Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling
by Shadow Chaser
Summary: 1 yr after the Talon Incident, a virus unleashed by Blue Cosmos sends everything into chaos. Burdened with the true secrets of his origin at Mendel, Kira Yamato has the power to stop the war, but will he embrace his destiny or let it fall? -Alt. Universe-
1. Stirrings in the Deep Unknown

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

**_A Sequel to Entropy Rising_**

**(PLEASE READ BEFORE PROCEEDING!!!) Author's Notes:**

I have decided to rewrite _Gundam SEED DESTINY_ into following after Entropy Rising because it'll give me a chance to manipulate new characters! However, GSD will go through lots changes to make sure it flows with events following Entropy Rising. **No necessary viewing of GSD is needed, as everything will be explained (though I warn you, I will skew a lot things).**

* * *

**History:**

In the events of Entropy Rising the rise of the peacekeeping force the Liberation Forces battled the Talon, putting out one potentially serious fire in wake of the uneasy peace between the Earth and PLANTs. Through there, Kira Yamato learned of his true origins and had a choice to make at the end. He chose solitude. In that solitude, one year has passed and the world rests on uneasy struts. The balance of power is held in the hands of those who seem to seek no power, but instead, corrupt the power.

In the uneasy peace following the events of Entropy Rising, there are signs of war once more. Gilbert Dullindal leads the PLANTs as the new Supreme Councilor in the recent election. The Liberation Forces and Orb, mediating the peace however, are unable to keep rebel factions from trying to drop Junius 7 on Earth. Cagalli faces opposition to her rule from the Serans and the political field just got a little more confusing when the topic of marriage is at hand. In all of this a young angry man, hunting for the Gundam and its pilot that killed his family during the war 3 years ago is ZAFT's newest ace – Shinn Asuka. As war brew once more, Kira Yamato realizes that he has the power to stop it all – but is he willing to?

* * *

**Story:**

_Chapter 1 – Stirrings in Deep Unknown_

_C.E. 71 – Battle for Orb_

"Hurry, hurry!" a woman with dark brown hair grabbed her son and daughter's hands while her husband ushered them from behind as they ran from their house in the outskirts of the main city of Orb, Onogoro City.

"Mommy…what's going to happen?" the daughter, youngest of the two asked fearfully, looking up at the skies where flashes of light were darting everywhere and the distant sounds of booms and rumbles through the earth told them that both the OMNI forces and their own forces were still engaged in combat.

"Nothing Mayu…nothing's going to happen. We just need to get away from the house and go down to the docks okay?"

"Come Mayu," her older brother had a wild shock of black hair and bright red eyes, making him look a bit different than the rest of his family, but then again both brother and sister were first generation Coordinators. He glanced up also in the skies as they saw in the far distance, three mobile suits, two of them ganging up on a bright blue-white one who was defending himself in a show of extreme control over his suit and barely getting grazed by their furious firing.

Fourteen-year-old Shinn Asuka had seen the blue-white mobile suit on the TV news coverage and had been in awe at the pilot's skills in controlling it. The news had called the mobile suit the Freedom and there were rumors that the pilot had stolen it from PLANT with the help of pop idol star Lacus Clyne. Whoever the pilot was, Shinn was glad that the Freedom was on their side, helping them fend off OMNI's unprovoked attack on their neutral country.

Orb never wanted a war and Shinn was horrified at what the news had put up, especially in the first wave of attacks. He felt anger at the ridiculous statements OMNI gave to Orb and to Uzumi Nara Attha, their leader…they were neutral dammit! No other country or military power had the right to invade them without any just cause! There wasn't any cause to invade Orb! They weren't PLANT sympathizers or Earth supporters! They just wanted to live as both Coordinator and non-Coordinator peacefully!

There were times Shinn wanted to show both PLANT and Earth his non-Coordinator friends and Coordinator friends getting along with each other. Granted, yes, he was a bit smarter than his friends, but who gave a damn about their brain power. They had fun together and played together.

"Shinn! Come on!" his father hissed at him and he turned from his gaze in the sky to see him beckoning to him to hurry.

"Sorry," he apologized hastily as he pulled his sister along who had also been looking at the battle above.

Suddenly there was a whine and a huge gust of wind blew through the trees in the path they were running down. Shinn ducked to the ground, shielding Mayu at the same time as the roar of the mobile suits passed by overhead. He heard his sister scream from the intensity of the pitch and he clapped one of his hands to his own ears, his other hand was against Mayu's head, she clapping her own ears to drown out the noise.

"Hurry!" his mother beckoned to them again as soon as the wind died down. The explosions of beam power and missiles rumbled close to them as they teetered down the path towards the distant small dock where the last of the evacuation boats was waiting for them.

Just then a missile exploded close to them, knocking them to the ground. Shinn cried out as he was thrown against some rocks and he lost the grip he had on his sister's hand. "Mayu!" he called out, forcing himself to get up in the rumbling and looked around. He saw his sister groggily pick herself up a few feet away from him, having landed in a patchy-grassy area.

"Shinn, Mayu, are you all right?" their father called out to them, and Shinn turned to see him helping their mother up.

"Yes!" Shinn called back before Mayu gave a cry. "Mayu?" he turned and saw her frantically searching around the area.

"My cell phone! It's gone!" Mayu cried.

"Leave it! We have to go now!" their father called back sternly.

"Come on Mayu," Shinn walked over to his sister, ignoring the bruises he received on his back that were crying out from his movement.

"Shinn," she turned her tear filled gaze at him, "please, help me find it! I…"

Shinn sighed…there was no way he could ignore her pleading look, no matter how much of the older stern brother he had to play at times. He was a sucker for what he dubbed her puppy-eyed look. "All right," he nodded and looked around the area quickly before he spotting something pink in the distant hill beneath them. "Hey! I found it!" he said as he leapt forward and skidded along a few rocks and grabbed a branch to steady his descent.

"Shinn!" his mother called down to him and he looked up to see her reaching worriedly down to him.

"Don't worry! I'll be back in a couple of seconds," he said before he navigated the rocks towards Mayu's cellphone.

His hand reached down to steady himself against some of the rocks when a sudden roar followed by a huge tremor that shook the ground overcame him. Shinn screamed as he lost his footing and went tumbling down the hill. His head hit one of the rocks and he blacked out.

He came to with someone shaking him by the shoulders and blearily opened his eyes, trying not to throw-up at the nausea that had accompanied a wonderful dizzy spell of the world doing some loops.

"Hey kid, you okay?" the man was wearing a captain's uniform of Orb…and Shinn realized the man was asking him.

"I-I'm…fine," he felt sore all over and his head pounded like someone was sticking a jackhammer to it. Shaking his head slightly…Mayu! Her cellphone! He frantically looked around and spotted it next to a brush and picked it up.

"Whew," he breathed as he was released by the man and sat on his haunches, inspecting the phone. It was all right…pretty hardy for such a girlish pink phone. Mayu would be happy.

"Mayu…" he turned around and forgot how to speak as he noticed the devastation in front of his eyes. There was no hill anymore. A small gorge of blistering heat and melted dirt that shone like glass greeted his eyes. Small fires burned through the brush that had survived the devastating beam weaponry that had lashed its firepower through the area…

And in that area…

Shinn started to shake uncontrollably as he saw the tattered and bloodied remains of his mother…father… His eyes told him that he was staring at his sister's remains…or rather his sister's hand, the rest of her body probably glassed over, but his brain couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

"M-Mayu…" he stuttered as he staggered forward on his hands and knees, not caring that he had a dripping wound over his head and body. He crawled the few feet separating him and his sister's arm and tentatively reached out a hand to touch the severed arm…

Her fingers still felt warm…still soft… He let his fingers gently trace her own, his mind still trying to come to terms that this was actually Mayu's arm…the only trace of her left… His hands wandered down to what looked like a dark pile of red and when he touched it, it left him with a thick trail of red on his fingers.

"Blood…" he whispered as his mind finally kicked itself into gear and the full realization that Mayu, his mother, and father were all dead… "N-No…no…"

"Kid," the captain spoke up behind him, but Shinn glanced up at the sky and saw the blue-white mobile suit flying around close to where he was, still fighting the battle. It was that _thing_ that did it! That _thing_ that killed his family! What had the news called it? _Freedom_.

A wild animalistic scream worked its way out of Shinn's mouth as he screamed to the heavens his sorrow, pain, and anger. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

_C.E. 74 – 3 years after the Armistice Treaty, 1 year after the Talon Incident_

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb Union**

Cagalli Yula Attha resisted the urge to rub her eyes tiredly in the current meeting she was having with her advisors. As Leader of Orb she was beginning to see why her father had always come home at night with such a tired expression on his face. Dealing with these lot of politicians was worst than dealing with the Senate's politicians.

The Talon's uprising almost a year ago had been suppressed though not without a lot of scandal involved. In the ensuing year, Senator Amalfi had resigned his position and retired to live the quiet life in PLANT. That only left Lacus as her only supporter in the Senate. But even Lacus was dividing her time between her duties as one of PLANT's representatives to the Senate and her career as a pop idol singer.

In the year since the Talon bombed the Senate building, it was hard trying to keep the peace between the Earth Alliance and PLANTs. There were times both parties had reduced themselves to bickering amongst each other in the Senate and she had to yell for them to shut up until her voice was hoarse. Those were also the times that she knew her brother avoided her – as not to draw her wrath that she had accumulated during the day.

But even her anger wasn't palpable when facing her advisors and the governmental body of Orb. This was beyond anger…this was her being plain furious at them. She knew she held a lot of sway with the people of Orb, partially due to her actions in the Senate and during the war three years ago, and partially because she was Uzumi Nara Attha's daughter. She was the Lioness of Orb, as some had already started coining the nickname for her. She supposed it was better than being whispered as the Cub of Orb.

And the Lioness wasn't happy with what was being discussed at the moment.

"We should consider the armament deal with the Earth Alliance as more profits for this country. After all, we did help them build the Strike, Aegis, Duel, Blitz, and Buster Gundams along with the _Archangel_ during the first war three and half years ago," Yuuna Roma Seran was saying.

"Orb will not be building arms for anyone anymore," Cagalli interjected, glaring at the purple-haired man. Ever since she became leader of Orb, she had been getting constant marriage proposals and by far, the most aggressive was probably from Yuuna. And while she knew any other girl would have been flattered, Cagalli was no ordinary girl. She detested the idea of marriage and rather spend her time with Athrun, but she did know that marriage for political purposes may serve as an alliance of sorts.

It was also why she had received quite a few proposals from important people in both PLANT and Earth Alliance circles. Any marriage to either one of the two parties would immediately see disaster for the other…and probably an instant declaration of war.

At least the Liberation Forces were keeping tabs on both Earth Alliance and PLANT for anything suspicious. She was glad the LF was created…it at least kept some of the violence toned down by combing ships from OMNI, ZAFT, and Orb itself. While the LF was directly independent of any military influence, they did have strong ties to Orb and reported directly to her. However, Cagalli knew that if Orb was to choose a side in a war, then the LF would fight to prevent that from happening and to pull Orb back into its neutral state.

"The investment we have gained and the increase in technology, Lady Cagalli, it stands in the stocks that the PLANTs have greater technology than we do, especially in the field of mobile suits," one of the other advisors spoke up gravely.

"Any armament deal with either the Earth Alliance or PLANT is like inviting war back into our yards again," Cagalli slammed a hand down on the long table firmly, giving each of them a hard stare, "do you really want to be thrown back into another war?"

"Look, all we are saying is that we should consider it. After all, this will give us a chance to acquire new technology that we _could_ use to prevent another war? We can use this technology to fund the Liberation Forces," Unato, Yuuna's father said in his oily silky voice and she narrowed her eyes.

The way he had worded how it could help the LF…it was like it was all her fault somehow. "The LF was created to be independent from Orb, if I may remind you," she stared at them, "while their funds are mainly provided by this country, need I remind you that both PLANT and the Earth Alliance also fund the LF and provide their ships to co-exist peacefully?"

"We can hide it under the budget, Lady Cagalli," one of the other ministers spoke up and she shook her head vehemently.

"No," she stood up, "I do not want any armament deal with either PLANT or the Earth Alliance. Have you forgotten that Morganroete belongs to us? We created our own mobile suits to defend the country three years ago. We can still do it without any help from others."

Giving each one of them another glare for good measure she calmed her voice down, "If there is no other pressing matter-"

The clearing of Unato's throat made her stare at the older man who was adjusting his glasses. "There have been rumors that you have been getting an increase in marriage proposals…the Council were wondering if any of these provided an alliance of sorts with either PLANT or the Earth Alliance."

"Those proposals are none of you concern," Cagalli shot back, feeling her anger mount again.

"Pardon your forgiveness, Princess, but if these marriage proposals are influencing your decision not to side with one or the other, then it will hinder our efforts to coordinate the peace and prosperity of our country," Unato said in a delicate tone as Cagalli started to see red in her vision.

How dare they….how dare they imply…

It was an effort to calm herself down and when felt she had enough control over her voice, she stared at Unato in the coldest glare she could manage, "My personal life is none of your concern. You'll do well to remember that." With that, she spun on her heel and walked out of the door, barely slamming the door shut behind her. She stalked down the halls and headed out of the government building, making everyone in her path slide to the walls or to different hallways to avoid her angry glare and potential wrath.

How dare they…

"Those stupid bigoted bastards," she muttered mostly to herself as the bright sunlight of mid-afternoon on the main island hit her in the face. She ignored some of the reporters that were waiting outside for her and instead, shoved their microphones and camera lens away from her face.

Glancing up, she wondered where her regular chauffer and escort were until her stormy expression faded a bit as a crooked smile appeared on her lips. Heading down the steps of the building she made her way towards a silvery-black sports car, the driver of the car's eyes obscured by sunglasses, but she recognized the clothing he wore and the hair color in any time of the day.

As soon as she seated herself into the passenger side of the sports car and buckled her seatbelt in, the driver shifted gears on his car and sped away from the building, leaving the reporters that had tried to follow her in a cloud of fine dust and sand.

"Busy day?" Athrun Zala asked her as they pulled onto the local highway and headed towards the Attha mansion.

"Why did I get saddled with a Cabinet full of bastards and lecherous old men?" she groused as she folded her arms across her chest and stared out at the ocean view they were driving by. Any other person who had come to visit Onogoro Island would have appreciated the view that the highway ran on, but Cagalli found it boring at times…

"The people voted them in, Cagalli," Athrun pointed out gently, "and you have to admit, they did pass a few laws that were beneficial to Orb's citizenry."

"Yeah but they're still bastards, especially Yuuna and his father Unato," she noticed a frown that appeared on Athrun's face, "what, something wrong?"

"He left you a bouquet of flowers this morning," there was a definite edge to his voice and she noticed his hands tightening on the wheel.

She raised an eyebrow and a smile appeared on her face, her anger momentarily forgotten. "Athrun Zala, are you jealous?!"

"No," was his short and curt answer, but Cagalli found herself grinning like an idiot.

"You are and don't deny it," she grinned at him, "you've been jealous ever since the first proposal came to me over a year ago."

He was silent for a few minutes as they drove along and looked about to say something when she squeezed him gently on the shoulder, being careful not to jar him to send the car careening all over the highway. "Thank you…" she said, knowing that it was a touchy subject between them. Some of the insecurities were probably paranoia on both of their parts, but with a complex of a relationship as theirs and her position as the leader of a country, they sometimes had to walk on eggshells.

She hated that part. She wished that there were times she was just a simple soldier, a daughter of a leader, where appearances didn't matter as much. But she had taken her father's mantle and responsibility with her own people's blessing. There were times she envied her brother's relationship with Lacus. He was great at being discreet and was able to stay out of the media spotlight, even with his girlfriend being both the PLANT representative _and_ a pop idol singer.

But, she mused to herself, the rumor that Lacus was still engaged to Athrun was what kept the façade up. However, she also knew it presented complications to Athrun as well, seeing that he was her bodyguard. It was like an open secret of sorts that he was one of the current leaders in the Liberation Forces which had ties to the Clyne Faction…so that made PLANT happy. However, it was also a persistent rumor in the media and political circles that Orb was leaning dangerously close to PLANT due to his status as her bodyguard.

She had heard the rumors that the only reason he was her bodyguard was to get close to her and that Athrun was secretly still in the employ of ZAFT even though he was a Lieutenant Commander in the LF.

"I want to quit," she muttered mostly to herself as she stared out at the scenery, the ocean waves breaking upon rocks.

"Pardon?" Athrun asked quietly, their momentary tiff long forgotten.

She hadn't realized she had spoken aloud and turned to look at him, "Sorry…just thinking."

"How did the morning session go?" he changed the subject as they pulled off the highway and to the side roads to the mansion.

"Mostly okay…we're still trying to negotiate the tensions in the gulf region of the Atlantic Federation. It's a mess…" she sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair, "I don't want to send the LF unless it's at the last minute and if fighting breaks out. There's been too many calls for the LF this past year."

"Yeah," he murmured.

She sighed and tilted her head, "You know, it's ever since the Talon were defeated that all these civil war like stuff keeps popping up. What is this? A free-for-all?" She made an angry noise in the back of her throat before she noticed a faint smile from Athrun, "What, something I said?"

"I keep forgetting that you're so blunt sometimes…" he glanced at her, a smile working its way up the corner of his lips, "its refreshing."

"Yeah well if I start talking like those inflatable assholes in the Senate and in the Council, I'll be full of hot air…"

"True…I don't want you floating away…"

Cagalli gave him a mock glare as they pulled up to the front entrance, "Thanks Athrun."

They were silent for a split second before both bursting out into laughter. It was times like these that Cagalli cherished every second with him.

And those seconds would become more precious by the minute.

* * *

**Armory One, PLANT**

There were four of them. And as one they crept silently into the massive base that was Armory One, the home manufacturing plant of all of ZAFT's mobile suits, shipyard, and weaponry.

"Sting, all clear on your side?" the leader of their group, a blue haired young man with piercing eyes asked over a radio.

"All set Auel," Sting was a green-haired man with a dangerous look to him as he drew out a machine gun he had taken off of a ZAFT soldier they had killed on the way in.

"Taelon?" Auel called to the third member of their group, a young man with wavy short blond hair and doleful looking blue eyes that held a glint of madness in them.

"Finishing up," the blond man was wiping the blood away from a combat knife he had acquired from the one of the two decapitated soldiers lying at his feet.

"Stellar?" Auel called to their final member and a lithe looking girl dressed in a summery blue dress stepped out of the shadows, holding a short wicked looking sword that was completely covered in blood. There were flecks of red all over her dress, but even that lent an artful look to her blank, expressionless face. Her blonde hair was mused and covered with more flecks of blood, but her purple eyes were surprisingly innocent looking.

"Stellar is ready."

"Good, everyone clear?" Auel couldn't believe his luck at the lack of security in this part of Armory One. When they had been sent out on their mission, their commander had warned them of tight security, but apparently his sources were wrong.

There were grunts of affirmation to his questioning before a slight clambering noise as everyone scattered to acquire the goal of their mission: ZAFT's newest line of mobile suits. They had been told that there were five in production, but the fifth one was still half-built and they would acquire it at a later time. Instead, they had been charged with the mission to steal the other four completed ones, Abyss, Gaia, Chaos, and Stargazer II.

Auel glanced around for good measure before approaching the model known as Abyss. He leap with fast agility and grace into the cockpit and lowered himself in, making sure he didn't step on any of the controls that was currently inverted with the mobile suit lying on the ground of the hanger.

Glancing around, a small smile worked its way up to the corner of his lips as he shut the cockpit and started up the suit. Its OS program loaded itself and he was pleased to find that he didn't need to make that much calculations. Bless the Coordinators and their perchance to make sure everything was working right and then not put even heavy guard on their most prized things.

Bringing up three communication squares he saw that the others were just about set with their mobile suits. "Have we been spotted?" he asked Stellar who shook her head.

Their commander had given them the full specs of what to expect for their mobile suits and had assigned each one according to their strengths. Stellar's Gaia was great at blending in with its surroundings with a mirage colloid equipped and it also had the greatest sensors installed for scouting.

"Taelon, Sting, blast us a hole out of here," both the Stargazer II and Chaos were built for medium range combat and for all-purpose units. His Abyss was built mostly for underwater combat, but also for destroying things with its multitude of beam weaponry.

Activating the phase shift on his mobile suit, he pulled himself up right just as both Stargazer and Chaos flew towards the ceiling of the hanger and fired their weapons, making debris rain down upon them. Leaping out into the artificial sky of the PLANT, he looked around and was mildly pleased to see that alarms were blaring and that the little people down on the ground looking like ants were running away from them.

Landing on the ground, with three other thumps of his teammates beside him, he activated his tracking beacon that was to alert the _Girty_ _Lue_ where they were. A few seconds later, the beacon responded and he triangulated the position.

"Auel, company," Sting warned over the comm. and he grinned.

"Let them come," he said full of confidence, "I wanna see how these guys do on a field test."

Activating his main weapon, a beam lance, he charged at the nearest GINN that was trying to do a head-on approach. He easily cut through the GINN and laughed. "Great! These things are definitely nice!" he whispered before he twisted around and decapitated two more GINNs. Glancing over, he saw the Gaia tear apart two DINNs that had been trying to get up into the air and then leap over in its BuCUE form and trample two more of its basic kind with its deadly beam lances on either side of it.

Meanwhile, both Stargazer and Chaos were wrecking havoc amongst the various air hangers in Armory One before they started to fly towards the rendezvous point.

"Stellar!" Auel called to the girl who had been charging towards a squad of Hi-MAT GINNs, "we're leaving!"

He activated his thrusters and flew high into the air, following both Taelon and Sting who were clearing the way of any DINNs who had been trying to intercept them. He saw the Stargazer bring up its Agni 320mm High Impulse Cannon and fire a long ranged burst at the protective metal that encased the whole colony. The Agni ripped through the metal as if it was scissors cutting through cloth and the great gusts of oxygen being sucked out of the colony propelled the four of them through and straight out into the blackness of space.

Auel re-triangulated the position of the _Girty__Lue_ and headed towards it a grin on his face. Their first mission as Phantom Pain was a success! Perhaps now, the other Phantom Pain members would give them the respect they deserved, after all, they were Naturals who successfully stole, re-programmed, and fought those stupid Coordinators' suits right underneath their noses.

He patched a comm. through his team's frequency, "Good job. Let's head home."

* * *

The general alarm blaring through the quarters aboard ZAFT's newest warship, the _Minerva_ was enough to startle a jet-black haired boy from his doze. He blinked his red eyes open before he realized what the alarm was. Quickly sitting up from his bed, he ran out of his quarters, not even bothering to smooth down the wrinkles of his red ZAFT uniform that he had received while taking a short nap during his downtime.

Seventeen-year-old Shinn Asuka was glad for one of the times that his status as a ZAFT Elite parted the halls of the _Minerva_ as he raced to the pilots' locker room to get into his flightsuit. He skidded into the locker room and saw that his friends, blond-haired Rey Za Burrell and red-headed Lunamaria Hawke were already getting dressed.

"You're late," Luna grinned at him before punching him lightly in the shoulder, "beauty sleep?"

Shinn felt some heat creep into his cheeks as he opened his locker and ducked behind it. Pulling out his red-white flightsuit, he quickly stripped to his undershirt and pants and put it on. Zipping it up, he took out his helmet and turned around, watching as both Luna and Rey secured their helmets. He secured his and grinned at his two best friends.

"Ready?" Luna smiled back.

"Yup," Shinn grabbed a small pink object from his locker and headed out after his friends. As soon as they reached the main part of the _Minerva's_ hanger bay, they parted ways with quick high-fives and got into their respective mobile suits. Luna in her Gunner Zaku, Rey in his Blaze Zaku. The two Zakus were based off of a model that they had only read in part of their history texts in the ZAFT Academy and were the only models made by ZAFT specifically for the _Minerva_.

Shinn, himself, didn't have a mobile suit assembled on the get go, instead, he leapt into the cockpit of the Core Splendor, a fighter-based cockpit system that when put together created the newest mobile suit in ZAFT's production line, the Impulse.

"Hey Shinn, what's the commotion about?" Vino Dupre, one of the mechanics aboard the Minerva and one of his friends, poked his head up the ladder, his bushy brown-red hair bouncing up and down.

"I dunno," he replied.

Vino adjusted a few things before tapping him on his helmet, "you're set. Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Shinn replied before closing the cockpit to the Core Splendor. He brought up the comm. channel and schematics.

"Shinn Asuka, ready!" he called out to the communications officer, Luna's younger sister Meyrin.

"Stand-by, Shinn," Meyrin's professional voice came back, "we're launching out of Armory One."

"What's the emergency?" he asked.

"Gaia, Chaos, Stargazer II, and Abyss were stolen half an hour ago," Meyrin replied, "we were ordered by the Chairman to go after it."

"Stolen?!" Luna's voice burst over the comm., "how the hell did something like that happen?"

"Unknown," with her usual cool, Shinn had always wondered if both Meyrin and Luna were related… There was a few seconds of pause before she came back on the line, "Core Splendor, ready to launch."

"Roger," he replied gripping the pink object in his hand, his sister's cell phone, before putting it in a secure place in his cockpit. He checked the controls as the Core Splendor rode up on its lift to its exit. Watching the light signals on the launch pad, he grinned, "Shinn Asuka, Core Splendor, launching!"

Jamming on the thrusters, he shot forward and out into the blackness of space. His hands navigated through the controls of turning the Core Splendor into the main body of the Impulse as he aligned the lasers to the feet and main body of the Impulse's parts as they launched immediately after him. Locking the pieces together, he finalized the laser lock of the final piece, an interchangeable piece much like the former OMNI mobile suit, Strike Gundam, and it latched on.

Activating the Phase Shift on the Impulse, he brought out the giant Excalibur anti-ship sword, his suit now known as the Sword Impulse. He triangulated the position of the enemy suits just as both Luna and Rey's Zakus came out of the _Minerva's_ launch bays. Burning his thrusters, he shot forward, charging at the ship on his HUD known as the _Girty_ _Lue_. It was marked as a Phantom Pain unit and Shinn's hands clenched in anger.

He had heard rumors long before he had joined up with ZAFT…in a life that he would rather forget that Phantom Pain units were specially designed unit within OMNI's Black Ops. The rumors extended to the point where people said that those who were within the unit were experimented on, not to create Coordinators, but experimented to enhance and augment human's natural bodies. And the rumors also claimed that all Phantom Pain members were part of Blue Cosmos.

He remembered that when he was in the Academy, he had heard that some of the OMNI forces that had attacked Orb during the war were Phantom Pain members…a fact that had made his blood boil and he had nearly killed one of his classmates during the training session. If that particular rumor was true…then…

He shook his head violently and ruthlessly crushed the thought. It wouldn't do him any good if he was shot down by any of the four stolen units, sister units to the Impulse. A beeping on his HUD marked that the Stargazer II and Abyss had come out of the ship and were on an intercept course with them. He knew from reading the specs before hand after he had received the Impulse as a special gift from the Chairman during graduation, that both the Gaia and Chaos weren't fitted for space combat, especially the Gaia.

Shinn powered up the beam on his Excalibur and charged at the Abyss, meeting it head on with its beam lance. Pushing against it with all of his strength he kicked it suddenly in the mid-section before turning around with another swipe. His eyes widened in surprise as it ducked beneath his swipe and stabbed it with its lance. He hastily avoided the deadly shaft of energy which scraped his side, but doing no serious damage.

A quick glance showed him that both Luna and Rey were occupied with the Stargazer and that the _Girty_ _Lue_ was getting away. He made a noise of anger and suddenly charged at the Abyss. He knew it was a reckless move as the Abyss had the upper-hand in terms of reach with his weapon, but he thought that perhaps one of his bone-headed moves as Rey liked to call them maybe would work.

The Abyss readied itself when suddenly Shinn threw his sword at the Gundam before flying past it and towards the escaping ship. He barely saw the Abyss move itself hastily away before he patched a comm. through to the _Minerva_ who was firing her batteries at the _Girty_ _Lue_, a much faster and sleeker ship than the _Minerva_.

"Meyrin, Force Impulse," he called.

"Roger," her cool and confident voice replied over the background noise of the _Minerva's_ captain, Talia Gladys' orders to set up Neidhart space missiles for a dispersion shot.

Turning off the Phase Shift and uncoupling the Sword pack, minus the Exalibur which had a homing device and would eventually be picked up by ZAFT forces, they returned to the hanger bay just as the Force pack shot out of the _Minerva's_ launch bays. He successfully attached the Force back and re-activated the Phase Shift before continuing his charge at the _Girty_ _Lue_.

Suddenly a long range beam lanced through the area and he shot upwards from his position to avoid the deadly beam. Multiple beeps warned him that the _Girty_ _Lue_ had him targeted with multiple missiles and his eyes widened in shock. The missiles launched from their tubes and Shinn knew that in no way, he could avoid all of them. He raised up his shield and braced himself for the inevitable impact, hoping that perhaps, he could avoid most of them…

Just as two bright green beams of energy lanced perpendicular to the path of the missiles that had been homing in on him. Most of the missiles exploded in spectacular fireballs and he watched, slightly dazed as they lit up in front of him.

"Pay attention and you'll survive," a sharp, authoritative voice barked from his comm. and Shinn looked up to see a small corner of his main screen pop open a video channel with the face of a white haired man dressed in the a stark white ZAFT commander's uniform. A jagged scar ran from the tip of his left eyebrow down past underneath his right eye.

He vaguely recognized the face and glanced down at the new data that had entered into his HUD. Three new ships entered the fray, two of them bearing the FOF tag of ZAFT named the _Voltaire_ and _Rousseau_, the other bearing the FOF tag of the Liberation Forces, named the _Babylon_.

"This is Captain Yzak Joule of the _Voltaire_ to Phantom Pain ship, _Girty_ _Lue_. In accordance to the Armistice Treaty and the lawful power of the Liberation Forces, you are ordered to stand down and prepare to be boarded. Your stolen mobile suits will shut down or face destruction," a broadband transmission issued from the ZAFT ship _Voltaire_.

The _Girty_ _Lue_ didn't stop.

* * *

Nineteen-year-old Yzak Joule narrowed his eyes as he stared at the battle map aboard his ship. Technically he was a ZAFT soldier, but since Lacus had contacted him regarding the events at Armory One and the fact that the _Babylon_ was the closest LF ship in the area, he had been ordered by both his ZAFT superiors and by Lacus to help the _Minerva_ chase down the Phantom Pain ship.

While he was a ZAFT soldier, he was also a member of the Liberation Forces, and it was his actions as an infiltrator during the Talon Incident that earned his way back into ZAFT and a prompt promotion to captaincy. It also gave him a bit of leverage to help his best friend Dearka be re-instated into ZAFT, though Dearka lost his privileges as a ZAFT ace due to the fact that he went AWOL during the Bloody Valentine War three years ago. His influence also saved Dearka from having a court martial slapped onto his record. And now, his best friend served as his second-in-command and occasional pilot of the Buster-Kai. He himself had his own mobile suit that he occasionally took out during battles, the Duel-Zeta, but with his captaincy, he looked forward to commanding ships instead of fighting in mobile suits.

"Sir, the Girty Lue isn't stopping or responding to our hailings," one of his communication officers replied.

"Fire main armaments and missiles. Tell the _Babylon_ and _Rousseau_ to head to bearing four-four-two-six-Charlie. I want to cut them off," Yzak said in a calm voice.

"Roger," came the various replies from the members of the bridge as they scrambled to obey his orders.

"That's in the Debris Belt, you sure it's a good idea?" Dearka floated next to him, staring at the same map as he touched a few buttons and it zoomed in, showing both the _Babylon_ and _Rousseau's_ course corrections. When Lacus had given him LF authority on this mission, she had also said that the _Babylon_ would be placed under his command. He had never worked with the _Babylon_'_s_ new commander before, a Natural by the name of Captain Leah Andrews, who had been _Kusanagi's_ second-in-command during the Talon Incident. He hoped that she was a competent commander…

"Captain Gladys," Ignoring Dearka's worries, he patched a call through to the _Minerva's_ captain and her face appeared. She was pretty by Coordinator standards, but Yzak had seen a fire in her eyes when he had attended the commissioning ceremony naming her as the captain of ZAFT's newest warship. That same fire hadn't died out in the past eight months since that day and Yzak nodded in greeting.

"Captain Joule, good to see you again, although I had hoped it was under better circumstances," Talia smiled grimly. Yzak had heard a rumor that _Minerva's_ captain was involved with the current Chairman, but he wasn't able to confirm it with his sources. However, when he had reported the rumor to Lacus, she had the most peculiar expression on her face…almost as if there was regret of sorts.

"It looks like that ship is headed to the Debris Belt, which means, it will probably head to Earth," he commented.

"I've noticed you sent the _Rousseau_ and _Babylon_ to intercept it. The last time a fight was fought in the Belt was a messy affair due to the debris," Talia's voice was neutral.

"The _Babylon_'_s_ had experience dealing with the Belt," Yzak replied. It was true, as three months after the Incident, they had received a report from the Junk Guild that someone was pillaging and perhaps setting up stuff within the Debris Belt. The Junk Guild was dealing with the problem, but they had requested the LF's assistance and the _Babylon_ and _Kusanagi_ had been sent to investigate and deal with the problem.

"Minerva will head into a low orbit just in case we aren't able to stop them in the Belt," Talia said, her mouth forming a grim line.

"Roger that," Yzak cut the connection before turning to his third-in-command, "take over. We're heading out."

"Sir, is that a good idea-"

Yzak gave a withering glare at his third-in-command, an experienced, but still relatively new soldier that they had given to him. He came with the highest of recommendations, but Yzak knew that the man still did things by the textbook, and having both your commander and second-in-command out in mobile suits where the risk of death was greater wasn't written into the Academy's books.

"Y-Yes sir," the young man hastily nodded beneath his glare before Yzak turned around and exited the bridge, heading for the pilots locker room, Dearka following behind him.

"I swear, life with you is never dull," his best friend commented a bit sarcastically.

"Shut up," Yzak shot back as they reached the locker and quickly changed into their flightsuits.

"I love how you always end up training all those new people. There is an interesting rumor going on that you're the Iceman who will end up chewing people's heads off if you don't get your way on the ships," Dearka continued and Yzak glared at his best friend.

"Are you done?" he asked, snapping the last clip of his helmet in place just as Dearka did the same and they both exited the locker room.

Reaching the hanger bay, Dearka slapped him on the shoulder and grinned, "Never."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Yzak commented mostly to himself as he parted ways and climbed aboard his Duel-Zeta, which was the body of his former Duel Gundam, but had been fitted with extra armaments. That enabled a greater range of firepower.

Powering up his Gundam, he quickly ran through the checklist before stepping out into the launch tube. Setting his thrusters, he patched a comm. through to the communications' officer, "Yzak Joule, Duel-Zeta, launching!"

The catapult launched him out into space and he immediately brought out his rifle and sped towards where the Impulse, Blaze Zaku, and Gunner Zaku were fighting against the Abyss and Stargazer II, getting closer and closer to the edge of the Debris Belt.

A rare smile crept up his face as he sighted and fired a round. The bolt sheered half of the Stargazer's face off and startled the five from their fight. It was time to show how a real mobile suit battle was fought and won.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Some explanation is in order. The beginning plot of this chapter may sound like GSD, but it takes a sharp left turn next chapter. I will also twist a majority of the characters that appeared in _GSD_ in terms of their personality. For one, thing, I was pissed at how they handled, Shinn, Rey, Luna, and Meyrin. Meyrin was too whiny, Luna was too needy, Shinn was definitely too whiny, and Rey…I felt he was left out of the story too much. Also, there will be NO Neo Lorrenoke (I absolutely positively HATED the idea that he was Mu – people who are dead should STAY DEAD). Gilbert will definitely be a lot more devious in this story – as it is to my standards. One thing that really irked me in _GSD_ was that Kira and Athrun were somewhat thrown onto the backburner for the most part then brought out heroically. Such a thing isn't…feasible plot-wise in my opinion. So true to the _Gundam SEED_ franchise, this will be a Kira and Athrun centric story. Shinn will be a sub-major character, but he won't take the spotlight (though in this first chapter…heheh). Also, a few people from the Junk Guild will appear, though I will limit the members that appear (partially b/c they have a cast as big as the _GS/GSD_ guys…).

There's probably more I need to explain, but for now…enjoy!


	2. Probing the Nameless Fear

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

**(PLEASE READ BEFORE PROCEEDING!!!) Author's Notes:**

I have decided to rewrite _Gundam SEED DESTINY_ into following after Entropy Rising because it'll give me a chance to manipulate new characters! However, GSD will go through lots changes to make sure it flows with events following Entropy Rising. **No necessary viewing of GSD is needed, as everything will be explained (though I warn you, I will skew a lot things).**

**Story:**

* * *

_Phase_ _Two – Probing the Nameless Fear_

**Near Junius Seven's Remnants - Debris Belt**

The battle was fierce and Shinn found himself using almost every trick he had learned at the Academy to stay alive. He was, however, impressed and at times, awed, at the fighting prowess of the pilots of the Duel-Zeta and Buster-Kai. He knew that both Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman fought in the Bloody Valentine war and that Joule had been decorated for his valor and bravery during the Battle of Jachin Due in order to stop the nuclear missiles. Elsman, however, he had heard rumors that the man was an LF member and that he had fought along side the hated Freedom during the battle. While he had no quarrel with Elsman, the knowledge that he had fought with the object of his revenge made him have a slight prejudice against the man.

He landed on the broad sheet of metal that was the current battlefield. This was the remnants of Junius 7, a place that he had only been to once and that was during Graduation where his class had been chosen to present their memorial to the victims of the Bloody Valentine Incident. He had been told that ghosts haunted the place and while he didn't see or hear anything, he did feel as if there was a secondary presence that was unseen within the broken colony.

Facing the mobile suit known as the Gaia, which was based on a BuCUE, he held his rifle steady and watched as the Gaia charged at him, running on all fours. When they had entered the Junius battlefield, the _Babylon_ had immediately reported that there were structures on Junius 7's remnants that looked like it was made to move it.

A hasty team was sent into to disable to structures as they kept the _Girty_ _Lue_ and her mobile suits from escaping. The team had discovered that Junius 7 had been primed to be dropped on to the Earth, but thankfully stopped the countdown it in time. However, it had cost them the opportunity to take down the _Girty_ _Lue_ and now the ship was making its escape towards the Earth. Shinn charged at the Gaia who he had tried to prevent from escaping, but the Gundam fired a few beams that made him swerve to avoid being hit before it jumped upon a few floating debris and headed back towards the _Girty_ _Lue_.

"Shit," he muttered as he stood upon the floating slab of Junius 7, watching it fly farther away before the silhouette of the _Minerva_ overshadowed the sun that was shining through the pockets of space in the Debris Field.

"Impulse, return to the _Minerva_, we've been ordered to pursue by the Chairman. We'll receive back-up once we're planetside," Meyrin's voice came over the comm. and Shinn nodded, noticing that the _Voltaire_ and _Rousseau_ weren't equipped to enter the Earth's atmosphere. He didn't know if the _Babylon_ was going to follow them or not.

"What about the _Babylon_?" he asked.

"Apparently the Liberation Forces is having it stay in the Debris Field to make sure no other sizable debris has been fitted with rocket boosters to make it fall to the Earth," Meyrin replied.

"Roger, returning to base," Shinn jumped up from his position and angled in towards the _Minerva_. As soon as he was docked into its hanger bay, he felt the ship shudder slightly with acceleration and knew that they were headed in pursuit.

Powering down the Impulse and finishing with all the post-flight checks, he got out of his cockpit and headed down towards where Rey and Luna were waiting along with Vino and a couple of the other mechanical crews.

"Where are they supposed to land?" he asked Rey. Technically, while he and Rey graduated at the same time and Luna a year ahead of them, Rey was lead pilot aboard the _Minerva_.

"Near the Alaskan waters," Rey replied. Ever since the war three years ago, the former stronghold of the Earth Alliance Forces, JOSH-A had been declared a nuclear hazard and subsequently abandoned by the Earth Alliance. It was now neutral territory, but there were rumors that it was also around the area where Blue Cosmos was located.

"The radiation particles from Cyclops' explosion will still wreak havoc on our sensors," Shinn grimly noted. Even though it had been three years since JOSH-A exploded, all ships passing through the region experienced unusual weather patterns and their sensors were severely hampered by the radiation that permeated throughout the area. It was the perfect hiding spot for Blue Cosmos, but probably also one of the deadliest ones. If they were going into Alaskan territory they would have to each take radiation medication to prevent its harmful effects from wrecking havoc on their bodies. Even Coordinators weren't immune to radiation's deadly touch.

"Yeah, the Captain's having everyone take shifts and the medical wards are prepping for massive treatment. We're supposedly also getting a mid-chase restocking from Kaoshung just in case we run out of meds," Luna noted before placing her hand on his shoulder and shaking it slightly, "but hopefully we'll get those bastards before we even have to do anything but sneeze!"

"Yeah…I hope," Shinn agreed with her, but inwardly, he had a feeling that something was wrong…and that something also didn't make sense.

* * *

**Morganroete Facility, Onogoro** **Island, Orb Union**

"…so don't get into any trouble while I'm gone, okay?" Cagalli's bright and cheerful face spoke through the computer monitor and a brown-haired, purple-eyed young man grinned and tilted his head sideways.

"Trouble? I could say the same for you. Hey Athrun!" he called out to the person he knew was sitting next to Cagalli, ever her bodyguard.

"Yeah?" his best friend's head appeared half-way on the screen.

"She," he pointed a finger at Cagalli who looked a bit miffed, "has a tendency to get into trouble as you might as well know. I, as the _older_ twin, demand that you make sure she doesn't get into trouble-"

"Older?!" Cagalli butted in, "I'm the older one, Kira Yamato!"

19-year-old Kira Yamato laughed lightly at her statement. "Sure…with your maturity level of a five-year-old."

"Excuse me?!!" Cagalli's face started to turn red before Athrun hastily turned the video communication screen onto himself.

"Okay, okay…we'll be fine Kira. Talk to you later!" the screen went blank and Kira let loose the laughter he was holding in as he shook his head.

"How's the Princess?" a gentle but firm voice made him turn to his left to see his boss, Erica Simmons, the head of Mobile Suit Research and Development of Morganroete, walking over to him.

"She seems a bit happier than I've seen her in a while," he replied, closing the now static vid screen and bring up the latest models and calculations he was working on. A few months after the Talon Incident, he had graduated college and had decided to put his dream of rebuilding Heliopolis into a reality, which meant he would start his work at Morganroete. He had applied and Erica had immediately hired him and now he was one of the top research assistants and reported directly to Erica. Currently, he was developing model calculations for an improved design of Heliopolis II. The new Orb colony would be placed in the same area as the old one, after all of the debris was cleared away or salvaged but he knew that the colony wouldn't even be started for the next few years as funding was tight, with half of the money the Orb government gave to Morganroete supporting the Liberation Forces and their peacekeeping task.

"That's good," Erica sat down in the empty chair next to him and with some quick typing, brought up her own calculations to compare with his. Both he and Erica knew how much stress and pressure had been mounting on Cagalli in the past year, especially straight after the Talon Incident. While it gave the then-fledgling LF credibility in the eyes of both the Earth Alliance and PLANTs as a peacekeeping task force, it also put an incredible amount of political strain onto Cagalli's shoulders.

Kira himself didn't pay much attention to the marriage proposals that Cagalli received, but he had told his sister that if she was to marry, to marry someone who would take care of her instead of abusing her position as Princess of Orb. He also knew that the topic of the proposals was a testy one especially with Athrun.

"I think the trip up to Copernicus City will at least clear up some of the recent tension that's been happening for contracts," he said staring at her models and glancing at his own, "the orbital joints that close to the hull may end up straining the metal around it."

"What?" Erica looked at where he was pointing on her map.

"The numbers are off…see," he brought up her initial scratch sheet and pointed to a particular quadrant of calculations, "you forgot to add in the gravitational factors."

Erica frowned a bit before nodding, "I'm glad you're working with me on this…and if the Council does vote to let OMNI partner with us again…we may have a few military firestorms to quell."

Kira nodded, "In regards to the crew of the _Archangel_, Murrue, and me…right?"

"At least Lacus has enough influence to protect the _Eternal's_ crew and Athrun. Murrue…probably not so much as she used to have the backing of the 8th Fleet during the war before they were completely wiped out. And plus she doesn't have a good history concerning that Commander Badriguel made a scathing report about her mistakes…"

"And me, the only Coordinator who fought as an OMNI soldier, stole a ZAFT mobile suit, and went AWOL," Kira said grimly.

"Well, not everyone knows, but you can probably bet that the OMNI heads know about you…problem is-"

"-is that they can't prosecute Murrue or I on war crimes and dereliction of duty because we are part of the LF and we are under Cagalli's protection. Yeah…"

"Besides, I don't think the Council will completely decide on a Morganroete partnership before putting it to the citizens. And you can definitely bet that Orb citizenry aren't going to want the Earth Alliance to be allies because of what happened two years ago."

"I hope so," Kira knew that the Serans, one of the most influential and powerful families in Orb were trying to sway public opinion on the potential partnership and their influence was great in the eyes of the Orb citizenry.

"Still, once we're finished with Heliopolis II, maybe we can all move there and leave all of the politics behind…" Erica shrugged before hitting the enter key to display her new calculations, "all right…anything else that's off?"

Kira re-focused his mind back on the project at hand. Politics and alliances were thoughts for another day…

* * *

**Copernicus** **City, Moon**

Cagalli blinked her eyes open from the nap she was having since their lift off from Kaguya to Copernicus City and glanced out of one of the shuttle's window to see the Moon-based city glistening like a crown jewel in the barren grey pockmarked surface of the moon. Her trip to the Moon-based city was two-fold. The main and official reason was to join the other leaders of both the Earth Alliance and PLANT for a commemorative ceremony to honor those that had been killed by Genesis during the war three years ago. The unofficial reason was to get away from the scheming politicians back home in both the Senate and the Orb Council.

Both the _Archangel_ and _Kusanagi_ were supposed to be arriving with her, but only the _Kusanagi_ was able to make it. Hours before they had left Orb, Murrue had radioed in that they were trying to keep the peace in one of the Eurasian settlements that had been attacked by Blue Cosmos. The _Kusanagi_ had already landed in Copernicus City, coming from a patrol around PLANT. She didn't know what ships both OMNI and ZAFT would send especially since she knew that Yzak Joule's ships had been diverted to help the _Minerva_ to stop the Phantom Pain. She had gotten the news just as they had launched from Orb and while she was concerned, Lacus had patched a call through to her to tell her not to worry and to continue with the ceremony.

In times like these, she was grateful for her help and her natural ability to take over in her stead to command of the LF. And she completely trusted Lacus unlike many of the Senate whom she knew that if she ever dangled the idea of giving them control of the LF they would abuse it rapidly.

"Sleep well?" Athrun asked and she glanced at him to see that he was still pouring over the recent reports made by the various ships in the LF. She had looked some of them over in the earlier part of her trip and had made note of Yzak Joule's discovery of some sort of chemical/biological lab within the remnants of Junius 7. Apparently it had been abandoned recently and all signs pointed towards a remnant Talon operation and that operation seemed to involve genetic markers and the makings of some sort of plague. Luckily, Yzak reported that the so-called plague was far from being completed and had subsequently destroyed all evidence of the operation.

"I'm surprised you can stay up for so long," Cagalli nodded as she shifted in her seat to stretch.

"You forget, I travel a lot more than you…" he shuffled the reports together before placing them back in a secure briefcase. "Besides, Captain Ramius made me her official representative of the _Archangel_ after hearing that I was going to accompany you."

"I thought you were on shore leave from the LF?" she was confused.

"I am," Athrun grinned, "she just wants me as far away as possible at the moment. Something about me being a workaholic like you."

"Can't help that," she shrugged, "you would think after so many years of tensions between Naturals and Coordinators, followed by such a destructive war that people would be able to learn to tolerate each other and keep the peace."

"That's why events like these are needed," Athrun replied just as their shuttle landed in one of the ports with a small jolt.

"At least I don't have to wear a stupid dress," she muttered mostly to herself. Luckily the Council had no say on what she would wear to the ceremony so she opted for her traditional maroon-white suit that she wore to the Orb Council meetings.

* * *

They exited the shuttle and were greeted by Captain Quinn Misali, the captain of the _Kusanagi_. Quinn guided them to a car that took them to the ceremony which was near the downtown section of the domed city. They arrived to a healthy looking crowd surrounding the platform and to Athrun's surprise; there weren't any signs of any protestors. He would have expected at least a few Blue Cosmos fanatics to be within the crowd, holding signs.

He walked behind her as she stepped up to the platform, waving to the camera bulbs that were flashing and the TV cameras that were recording her every move. She also waved to the crowd who responded with some cheers. Athrun had to admit, Cagalli was well loved by the people, though he expected if Lacus was attending the ceremony the crowd would have been over the moon, no pun intended. He noticed that a lot of dignitaries including the newly elected Supreme Chairman of PLANT, Gilbert Dullindal was sitting amongst them.

As Cagalli took her seat near the edge of the platform, Athrun stood behind her, discreetly staring at the chairman of PLANT. He had heard rumors about the man, especially while his late father had conducted meetings in their estate. Dullindal was considered generous when he was interested in an issue, but it was also whispered around that he was very interested in improving the genetics of a Coordinator; though it wasn't as twisted as what his father had done to fund Dr. Hibiki's projects to produce the Ultimate Coordinator.

"Pardon me, but you are Princess Cagalli Yula Attha, aren't you?" Dullindal introduced himself politely to Cagalli.

"Yes…and you are?" Cagalli replied, shaking hands, the smile that Athrun recognized as the smile Lacus had taught her to smile when greeting politicians on her face.

"Chairman Gilbert Dullindal," Dullindal replied, "it's an honor to finally meet one of the heroes who was instrumental in stopping Patrick Zala and Murata Azrael's war machine three years ago."

"Ah…PLANT just had their elections didn't they? Congratulations on your new position, Chairman."

"Gilbert please…no need to stand on formality," Dullindal shook his head before inclining it towards the crowd that had gathered; "I still find it surprising to see both Coordinators and Naturals converging en mass today."

"It's a time of a healing, not of war anymore," Cagalli replied neutrally.

"Your Liberation Forces are doing quite the job keeping the peace within the Earth Sphere," Gilbert gave them a faint smile, "though I heard from one of my commanders that there was a slight mishap involving the remnants of Junius Seven recently?"

"It has been dealt with," Athrun cut in sharply before Cagalli could reply, finally bringing the Chairman's gaze onto him. He had been wondering the whole time if the Chairman was ignoring him deliberately or hadn't even recognized him.

"Ah, you must be the Liberation Forces' newest rising star," Dullindal gave him a smile that Athrun didn't like at all, "Athrun Zala, I presume."

"Lieutenant Commander," for once in his life, he was glad he paid attention to some of his late father's lectures on politics. It seemed that Dullindal was starting to play a slippery game with him, either that, was just trying to gauge him. He had seen people similar to the chairman, and his father was one of them. It was sizing a person up politically to see what kind of influence they may have and if the person passed muster, then the formalities would be dropped and perhaps a political friendship would start. His father always played the game, and was very good at it, having influenced many and rise up to become the Supreme Councilor.

"Ah," Dullindal bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, "forgive me, Lieutenant Commander; you see, I come from a mostly civilian and science background. The only titles that were important before I received my nomination to join the Supreme Council were doctors and what kind of degree they specialized in."

"Understandable," Athrun replied, knowing full well that scientists and doctors who specialized in the fields of genetics and medicine were probably more important than any of the Council members or any military personnel in PLANT. One thing that puzzled him was why did Dullindal, if he was part of the medicinal field, did he take a so-called cut in social status?

"Your exploits within the Liberation Forces are to be commended. It is a pity that you are no longer part of ZAFT," Dullindal shrugged, "I'm sure we could have worked out an arraignment like your former teammate Yzak Joule-"

"I'm happy with my position," Athrun cut the chairman off, "Orb was devastated in the war and subsequent terrorist acts. I think my place is here with the Princess and with the Liberation Forces. If someone with my rank and position within the LF were to join ZAFT, it would complicate the neutrality that the LF has with both OMNI and ZAFT."

The Chairman tilted his head before gazing out into the crowd, all whom were listening to the Emcee as he announced the speakers for the ceremony, "I really wonder if there is a thing like neutrality."

* * *

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb**

Kira sat on the patio of the spacious summer home that Cagalli had on the western coast of the island, his fingers absently hitting a few buttons on his laptop. Part of the screen had been split to show a 24-hour broadcast news channel, the other part of the screen showed the emails he was looking through. A day and a half had passed since he had wished Cagalli and Athrun well on their trip to Copernicus City and he was just now tuned in to the broadcast that was going to show the ceremony.

However, the anchor on the screen was updating the viewers on a particularly nasty plague that had been spreading around the Eurasian Federation for the past couple of weeks. The LF had sent in medical aid and food to assist the area, but it looked like efforts to prevent the plague from spreading were having no effort at all.

He knew that the Eurasian Federation was a strict supporter of OMNI during the war, but Lacus had been talking about visiting their ministers to try to let PLANT render at least some form of aid. It was a good idea and yet a bad one at the same time. While he knew that PLANT's genetic scientists would have no doubt coming up with a cure, it was also the pride the Eurasians had within them to refuse that cure. Plus there were nasty rumors that part of what used to be Siberia was now the current home of Blue Cosmos.

He turned his gaze from the news to his emails and clicked on one with a subject that interested him. It was a forwarded report Yzak Joule regarding the remnants of Junius Seven. He had seen the footage reports mobile suits stolen by Phantom Pain from PLANT's Armory One only to see them chased down by Yzak's team and what looked like a new PLANT warship, christened the _Minerva_.

While he had been dismayed at how much weaponry was coming from PLANT, as if they were anticipating a new war, he was far more interested in the discoveries of a base within the remnants of Junius Seven. Since he was technically not part of the LF anymore, only part of their technical support group, Yzak didn't have to send him a mission report, but Kira was grateful that the white-haired man did so anyways.

Actually, almost everyone he knew that was part of the LF courtesy-copied him their reports, keeping him in the loop of things. During the Talon Incident, while he hadn't officially joined the LF, he had been given a rank of Lieutenant to which he had resigned soon after the Incident was over and returned to his college studies. Athrun and the others knew of his reluctance to pilot the Freedom once again, but kept him in the loop nonetheless. He even had told Lacus, after everything had settled down, to take the Freedom and place it somewhere where he couldn't find it. He didn't want to be tempted into piloting the Gundam again.

He skimmed parts of Yzak's report, part of his mind noting at how much he had changed over the past few years – how they all had changed. But it struck him greatly as to the Coordinator's attitude towards him. He and Yzak never got along and while were civil to each other, he knew that the white-haired man resented the fact that he had killed Nicol all those years ago. Now, whenever they were face to face, they were still cordial to each other, but there were bits and pieces of friendliness in their conversations. He knew that they could probably never get along since they were completely different, but Kira was willing to accept that measure of peace.

Yzak's report stated that there was a lab that had been found in Junius Seven during their hunt to stop the boosters that had been fitted within the asteroid from dropping to Earth. Inside the lab they had found evidence of genetic tampering and a multitude of notes referencing a cocktail virus that would be deadly enough to wipe out the population on Earth. There were no names within the notes found in Seven's computers, and instead only initials.

While it was mildly interesting to Kira, the thing that caught his eye was the mention of genetic tampering to the level where it was to make a Coordinator. He knew Naturals all had some evidence of genetic tampering within them, even though the Blue Cosmos fanatics claimed that their genes were all natural and not selective. It was for the protection and eradication of the common diseases that had plagued their forefathers at least hundreds of years ago. A Coordinator was created when that selective genetic material was both altered and picked to specifics to so call "create" a human being.

Suddenly Kira sensed something out of the corner of his eye and held up his hand towards his face, palm outwards-

"Haro!"

He tightened his grip on the pink-colored Haro ball that had tried to bounce and smash into his face and settled it on the table next to his laptop.

"Haro!" the pink-colored Haro affectionately named Pink-chan by Lacus didn't seemed fazed at being caught and instead rolled around the table, its red eyes blinking.

"Hi Lacus," he called out as he returned to reading Yzak's report, knowing that whenever Pink-chan showed up, Lacus was bound to appear. The pink-haired girl was the love of his life, his soulmate, his companion – and girlfriend was too simple of a word to describe what she meant to him.

"Kira!" he turned his head at the sound of her voice and saw her walking towards him, dressed in a simple light blue sundress that accented her lovely features. A smile worked its way up his face as she approached him and pulled over a chair next to his. Pink-chan immediately stopped its rolling and hopped into her lap, eyes flashing brightly in greeting.

"How's the situation?" she asked, gesturing to the news feed he was watching.

"Not that good," he replied somberly, the smile all but gone from his face, "I've also received a report from Yzak detailing what he found within the research lab on Junius Seven."

"We did get some leads about something like this, but I had Yzak try to follow it using his mother's connections," she shook her head, "dead end."

"Its not your fault," he was quick to reassure her and placed his hand on top of hers, "don't blame yourself."

"But I still think that these could be related," she tapped her chin, "do you still think having me go to Moscow is a bad idea?"

"Yes," he nodded, "it's not safe there. And it's close to Blue Cosmos territory."

"I hate to say it, but Blue Cosmos may be more attracted to the ceremony in Copernicus City if we leave now," she grimaced and Kira felt his own insides twisting too. He completely understood what she was saying, especially concerning Athrun and Cagalli, but he also knew that once she set her mind to something, she wouldn't give up.

He sighed, running his hand through his brown hair, unintentionally spiking it in a few spots, "All right…we'll leave. I'll let Murrue know so she can get a flyer ready for us."

"Thank you Kira," she clasped his hands before leaning forward and kissing him gently on the cheek, "you don't know how much this means to me."

He smiled gently in return, "We'll just keep a sharp eye while were there, all right?" While he knew that Lacus could have gone to Moscow all by herself, she had respected their bond and consulted with him so that they could agree together. It was like being a married couple, except without the rings, vows, or official note. This peculiarity had developed over the past year, especially with Lacus constantly in the spotlight and rumors of her still Athrun's fiancée, they both felt like there had to be some stability within their relationship.

While there were times when Lacus went off on her own, diplomatic missions on behalf of the LF or PLANT Supreme Council meetings, or even concerts, whenever they were together, they would make the most of their time and constantly support one another. This decision to go the Eurasian Federation could have been accomplished with her arriving with a large entourage of diplomatic officials, but Kira knew that she wanted to be by herself when she arrived. She wanted to appeal to the OMNI-leaning Federation that she understood their plight and it wasn't just a big hubbub of bureaucracy.

She wanted to be the daughter of a simple man who just wanted peace between the two factions. She wanted to be one of them, not a pop idol and powerful figure (though he knew that she fully understood her influence amongst many), but just a common average girl who just had some of her genes modified, but nonetheless, a people's princess.

And it was times like these, that Kira loved her dearly and would protect her from anything that dared to harm her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I deeply apologize for posting this chapter so late. I was completely distracted by many things, one of which was my college graduation and subsequent employment which got me sidetracked. Also a bunch of other fandoms got me sidetracked too, but you get the point. Anyways, this chapter may sound a bit stilted in parts since I wrote this one in chunks. Hopefully the next one won't be so choppy. Once again, characters (especially those in GSD) may be OOC, but then again, this is AU and through my own wicked machinations, I like it!


	3. Crashing Hopes Once More

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

**(PLEASE READ BEFORE PROCEEDING!!!) Author's Notes:**

I have decided to rewrite _Gundam SEED DESTINY_ into following after Entropy Rising because it'll give me a chance to manipulate new characters! However, GSD will go through lots changes to make sure it flows with events followingEntropy Rising. **No necessary viewing of GSD is needed, as everything will be explained (though I warn you, I will skew a lot things).**

**Story:**

_Phase Three – Crashing Hopes Once More_

**ZAFT Battleship _Minerva_, En route to Kaoshung, ZAFT-controlled Military Base**

It had been at least four hours since the announcement from Captain Gladys that they were to stop their pursuit of the Phantom Pain ship the _Girty_ _Lue_ and instead, head to Kaoshung to await further orders. However, since it seemed like the _Lue_ was headed in nearly the same direction as they were; the Captain had announced that they would continue their pursuit until they were unable to do so.

It made a crooked smile appear on his face at the news. He had signed up for a posting aboard the _Minerva_ for two reasons. One to pilot the experimental Impulse Gundam, two was to be under Captain Talia Gladys' command. She had been known throughout ZAFT as a commander with some highly unusual and unorthodox methods and was also considered a maverick within ZAFT. Not so much as Captain Andrew Bartfield, but enough that ZAFT wanted her far from their main command as much as possible.

He was sitting in the cockpit of the Core Splendor that was the main body of the Impulse, waiting for the go-ahead from Meyrin who was on the bridge. The _Girty__Lue_ had been sighted trying to make an escape for the borders of the Alaskan Peninsula.

"This is the Captain speaking, all units stand down. We're now at DEFCON 3. Prepare for any potential Blue Cosmos attacks, but start normal rotations, that is all," Talia's voice suddenly blared throughout the ship's intercom.

Shinn grunted in disappointment. He was hoping to engage the stolen suits once more. Sighing, he took off his helmet and climbed down from the cockpit of the Core Splendor and headed to the pilots' ready room.

Stripping off his flightsuit, covered in grime and sweat from battling before and from sitting in the cockpit for so long, he stepped into one of the showers and a quick spray of hot water hit his body. Scrubbing himself quickly, he turned off the water and reached for a towel only to find his hand grasping empty air.

"What the…" he muttered as he wiped water droplets from his eyes and looked around for his missing towel. It was only then that he remembered that in his haste to the shower, he forgot to bring his towel with him. He cursed silently and gingerly pulled the shower curtain over his naked body. "Um…Rey? Can you get my towel from my locker?" he called out, hoping that his roommate would hear him.

"He's in the showers," Luna's voice floated from the doorway and Shinn looked up, a slightly mortified expression on his face, as he saw her holding a towel in her hand. She had changed into her uniform and was shaking her head, a grin on her face.

"L-Luna…" Shinn could feel himself flush with embarrassment.

"I know, I know, rules and all, but I've seen them all," Luna's grin grew wider before tossing him the towel to which he caught with one hand, his other one wrapping the curtains tighter around to preserve his modesty.

"Still-"

"Listen Shinn, while you're probably still embarrassed by this, trust me. My mom's a forensic mortician. And when we were younger, she would take Meyrin and me to work. You see all kinds of weird stuff besides dead bodies."

Shinn ducked behind the shower stall and hastily wrapped the towel around his waist and made sure that it was secure before stepping back out and headed back to his locker. "That's morbid," he glanced at his friend, "and a bit on the creepy side."

"We got scared, which is why we both joined up with ZAFT. Don't want to go into science, agriculture, or the arts, so we joined up," Luna shrugged before pointedly turning her back away from him as he changed into his uniform. "Mom wasn't too happy though."

"Did you tell her why?"

"No," she sounded sad and Shinn shrugged on his red jacket before turning to face her.

"What happened?"

"Bloody Valentine," she replied.

"Oh…" Shinn didn't know what else to say, "I'm sorry."

She turned and he saw a sad smile on her face, but there were no tears in her eyes, "Don't be. Its got nothing to do with you."

"I lost my family during the war too," Shinn's hand involuntarily went to the pocket of his pants and gripped the pink cell phone that had belonged to his long dead sister Mayu.

"What did your parents do?" they headed out of the ready room and towards the commissary to grab something to eat. Shinn knew that Rey didn't mind if they didn't wait up for him.

"Dad was a computer engineer and mom was a geneticist," Shinn shrugged, "my sister and I are first generation Coordinators."

"Wow," Luna looked surprised.

"Wow?"

"Your personnel record didn't say anything about your parents being Naturals," Luna said.

Shinn shrugged as they grabbed some food and sat down. He didn't want Luna to know that he had altered his record in order to get into the Academy. He knew that ZAFT still held a bias against first-generation Coordinators due to the fact that their parents were Naturals and presuming that first generation Coordinators weren't 'perfect' in their genetic makeup to compare to second, third, or even fourth generation Coordinators.

"Hey," Luna suddenly laid a hand on his own, startling him, "thanks for telling me this. I know that you may think most of us are biased against first gens, but I don't care one bit."

"Um…can you not tell Rey?"

She smiled at him and he felt himself blushing again, "I won't. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks," Shinn smiled back before glancing up and waving to Rey and Meyrin who had entered the commissary to join them. Here was where his friends were, and he would be dammed if they were taken away from him, especially by the Freedom.

But little did Shinn know that in the next few hours, all hell would break loose.

* * *

**Location: Unknown**

Deep within the confines of a heavily fortified and secure compound, the forces of chaos were preparing to strike. Almost all of the players were in position and a mysterious man watched his loyal underlings scurry about with the final preparations only his head and shoulders visible in a silhouette on a video screen.

"Is it ready?"

"Yes sir," a technician replied from one of the control stations in the heart of the compound.

"Then send it."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

**Broadcast Location: Unknown**

"It is our solemn duty as citizens of the United Earth Sphere to declare that we, Blue Cosmos will eradicate and kill anyone who supports the mongrels known as Coordinators. The cleansing fire of this virus will destroy their supports and ultimately destroy their so-called superior genes. We have started this process within the Eurasian Federation, so called puppets of OMNI, but in truth are the hounds of those damned Coordinators.

"They are not superior beings, I tell you, they are only the deepest level of human sin. Sin which cannot be erased and deigned to modify to replace what God has given us to be our own. They plan to create their own God-like form and rule over us. Has not the Holy Bible, Qur'an, Torah, and other holy texts say that to modify what God has given us when we are newborn babes is a sin of its self?

"They are the sinners and thus deserve to die. They are the ones who bring the fires of hell and war upon us. They are the ones to unleash the plagues of locusts and famine and they are the ones to let your firstborns die in so many wars. They claim innocence yet fired upon our men and women with nuclear radiation. They want to turn us into hideous beings and slaves where they can control us, make our lesser genes bend to their will.

"They want to modify us so that we become their docile servants and their pets. We will do their bidding and serve our masters forever.

"All you fools who think peace can be achieved between the Coordinators and Naturals will be the first to die. Die with the message; die with your mouths frothing to those who hold your leash that they will be next.

"All of you who seek redemption and into the fold of God's arms, we will preserve you and give you the weapons necessary to kill those you know who are Coordinators or are their dogs.

"My name is Samael and I am Blue Cosmos."

* * *

**Copernicus** **City, Moon**

The figure was tall, very tall and was most definitely male. He was wearing a mask of sorts to hide his identity, and his voice seemed a bit digitally altered, but it still didn't lose any of its strength during the speech that had interrupted the buffet held after the ceremony, allowing the various dignitaries to mingle. Blue Cosmos had managed to hack into almost every projection screen, news station, and communications channel, with the exception of military ones and secretive lines that had been fire walled, to make this broadcast.

The room had completely froze in the first few seconds of the speech and Athrun found himself analyzing the speaker's voice and speech patterns all the while moving slowly closer to Cagalli should anything happen.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Quinn talking rapidly into his radio, probably communicating with his second-in-command about getting the _Kusanagi_ prepped for immediate launch and also in battle condition. The man finished talking on the radio and approached them.

"I'm heading over to the _Kusanagi_ to complete preparations. Please bring her Highness when you can, Commander," he said and Athrun nodded.

"Yes sir," he replied before Quinn spun on his heels and walked away quickly, the relaxed and easy-going posture he had before now rigid and straight with tension.

The abrupt hiss of static from the video screens made Athrun turn around again to see that the broadcast had finished and murmurs of shock and surprise had erupted amongst the guests at the buffet. "Cagalli," he grabbed onto her hand, bringing her troubled look to his face, "we should get going. It isn't safe."

"Why hasn't the Liberation Forces done anything, Princess? I thought they were there to prevent the fires of war from spreading and to contain such incidents like this!" a fairly loud voice cut through the din and Athrun turned to the source, his hand tightening around Cagalli's hand.

A pretty brown-haired woman who was dressed in a severe dark grey suit stared at them, the people around her to whom she had been talking to also staring at them. Athrun vaguely recognized her, but at the moment couldn't place the name. Her voice had also broken up the whispers and murmurs, making everyone turn to stare at Cagalli. Even the reporters who had been allowed exclusive access to the buffet turned their cameras upon her, their journalistic sense telling them this was a breaking story.

"Dr. Francis," Cagalli slipped her hand out of his grip and stood straight, staring at the brown-haired woman, "the affairs of the Liberation Forces are not for public questioning. We have been looking into the situation in the Eurasian Federation for quite sometime and have rendered aide and supplies to combat this virus that has been occurring for the past few weeks. If you dare believe that man's words, then you are more foolish than I thought."

Athrun inwardly winced at Cagalli's choice of words. He had hoped that maybe after a year on the political battlefield of Orb and of the Senate that she would have a better choice of words, but supposed that wasn't the case.

"Blue Cosmos is known for its lies and deceit. This Samael is perhaps only trying to jump on the bandwagon of harassing those that suffer from this mysterious illness in the Eurasian Federation. We have asked their government to render us cooperation and aide to treat the sick, but as you know from these reporters and their analysts words, the Federation has rebuffed all attempts. We will continue to render aid, so if you are implying what I think you are, then you are sorely mistaken."

Athrun immediately guided Cagalli towards the nearest exit before anyone else could respond. He remembered Dr. Madison Francis from the various Senate meetings he attended as Cagalli's bodyguard. She was the head of a giant pharmaceutical company that specialized in helping amnesia patients and those who had post-traumatic stress disorder. Her questions in the Senate added a new element to a fiery debate that had been going on since the end of the war three years ago – the help and aid to soldiers of both OMNI and ZAFT. Many had been suffering from PTSD and she was lobbying for a Senate budget so that both PLANT and the Earth Alliance could work together to treat the soldiers.

She was also quick to blame others for problems that occurred after the war, and was once a vocal supporter of the late Senator Ingriss who died in the Senate Hall bombing over a year ago.

"This way is a faster escape route," Athrun and Cagalli stopped in their tracks as they saw Gilbert Dullindal step from the shadows, a mild expression on his face as he gestured to the hall that he had stepped from. "My shuttle is prepped and ready for departure."

"Thank you Chairman," Cagalli replied, "but the _Kusanagi_ is expecting our arrival."

"I believe you will encounter only protestors and more resistance along with questions if you do decide to head to your warship," Dullindal replied and Athrun narrowed his eyes slightly at the Chairman's enunciation of 'warship.'

"Then we accept," Cagalli interrupted whatever Athrun was about to say.

"Princess," Athrun gave her a subtle warning look. He rarely used Cagalli's title, and in the times he did, it was a code that he didn't trust whoever they were talking to at the moment. And right now, he didn't trust Dullindal as far as he could throw him. But she gave him an even look in return before she briefly squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"Please contact Captain Misali and tell him we will head to Aprilius One with the Chairman until this passes over," Cagalli said and Athrun reluctantly nodded before taking out a small hand-held communications device and turning it on to an encrypted channel.

"Captain, Chairman Dullindal has offered us sanctuary. Please let Admiral Ramius know of the change. We'll return as soon as this blows over," he said before turning off the device and storing it back in his pocket. "Lead the way, Chairman," he gestured to Dullindal who nodded before heading down the hall.

They walked in relative silence for a few minutes before a distant rumble followed by some tremors within the hall made them stop. Athrun looked up as a few loose dust and particles fell to the ground from the ceiling, his eyes narrowed.

"That doesn't feel like a moonquake," Cagalli murmured just as Athrun spotted the Chairman talking quickly and quietly into his own personal comlink. He couldn't hear what the Chairman was saying, but the frown on his face said that something was wrong.

Suddenly Dullindal turned towards them, "Blue Cosmos just launched an all out attack on the ceremony and other places on Earth. We must hurry."

Athrun grabbed Cagalli by her hand and pulled her along as they followed the Chairman through the maze of tunnels. Suddenly Dullindal stopped and Athrun instinctively drew out the handgun he always carried with him from inside his jacket under his arm holster. "Get behind me," he stepped forward, pushing the Chairman behind him as he crouched down on one knee, sighting down the barrel of his gun. His ears were alert to any abnormal sounds and the soldier side of him filtered out the slightly panicked breathing of Cagalli and the oddly calm breathing of Dullindal.

Suddenly, he spotted movement in the shadows and whipped his gun around, firing off a few rounds. "Move!" he shouted to the two as they scrambled to their feet and started running towards the hanger. Athrun fired off a couple of more rounds before running after them. Behind him in the shadows, a sudden barrage of gun fire pelted the walls and floor near them.

Athrun cursed softly under his breath as he rounded a corner when he suddenly skidded to a stop. "Cagalli!" he called out.

That was when he saw _him_…

* * *

**Morganroete Facility, Orb**

Kanoko Caridad Yamato glanced up and saw him, one of the few people left from her past that truly understood the intimacies of the war that was brewing and the potential devastation a plague unleashed upon the masses of the Earth Sphere would do to morale and to allegiances. The person in question was her husband of many years, Keiji Haruma Yamato. He was now a high school teacher in one of Orb's public schools, teaching History of all ironies.

"They closed the schools?" she asked, glancing up from her current charts and data that were spread out over her workstation in a small part of the large facility known as Morganroete. She was head of the Scientific Technologies, a flowery title, but one that held a secret. While her work was mostly theoretical in nature, she also had her own side projects; one of them was to identify the gene that controlled the Ultimate Coordinator. If she could figure out which gene it was and shut it off, she knew that her son would be able to lead a normal life instead of having so many hardships fall upon him.

But that side project had been shelved since the announcement made by Blue Cosmos of a plague wrecking havoc upon the Eurasian settlement mere hours ago. She had received copies and samples of the plague supposedly found in the remnants of Junius Seven by Yzak and immediately her mind linked the Blue Cosmos announcement to the samples she had. It was too much of a coincidence.

"The Council issued a precautionary warning for citizens to stay indoors at their own homes and are shipping medical equipment out to the citizens," Keiji shrugged, setting his work bag down in one of the unoccupied chairs in her lab. "Everyone's watch the news and I heard that the doctors are swamped with patients claiming that they have whatever's been unleashed in Eurasia."

"But they're just reporting something flu-like and there haven't been that many deaths, only mostly in the elderly and younger populations," Kanoko shook her head, "and even then, there doesn't seem to be that many deaths."

"Its all relative on who you ask," Keiji pointed out and she nodded, tapping one of the side panels near her station to bring up a feed of the world news. "It seems only Naturals are affected since we haven't heard any news of Coordinators being infected with the plague. Though it's the Eurasian Federation and they're mostly anti-Coordinator so I wouldn't image any Coordinator living there save for a few desperate ones or underground groups."

"You know," she started quietly, "Kira told me that he was going to Moscow with Lacus."

"Yeah," Keiji took an empty seat near hers, the other techs and scientists' in the lab's noise oblivious and muffled around them. "He'll be fine."

"I hope so," she looked at him with worried eyes before turning back to her work and picked up a few strips of the test samples with her gloved hands.

"Any results?"

"It is definitely an active plague, I can tell you this," she stared at the samples, "and Captain Joule was wrong about the lab being long abandoned. While plagues usually have an unusual lifespan, especially out in the confines of space, Yzak said that he and Dearka found the samples in a flash bin, supposedly destroyed."

"Then what's wrong?"

"These are the samples sent to me by the Junk Guild of some of the locals who they've been helping in the Federation," she held up two sets of data samples, "And these are the blood samples Yzak and Dearka sent to me. I think Yzak knew what had happened…"

"What?" Keiji looked confused at the data shown to him.

"It's the same plague that's been affecting the Eurasian Federation and it's jumped from Naturals to Coordinators. Both Yzak and Dearka are infected by the plague."

* * *

**Moscow, Earth**

Kira pulled his jacket's hood up further, not to conceal himself, but to protect himself from the biting wind that blew through the city of Moscow. The late autumn of the historical city that had seen so many wars and been through so much blew a terrible wind from the mountains. Walking next to him was Lacus, completely covered up in a non-descript cloak that hid most of her iconic pink hair. They both carried small travel bags, one of which had a small pocket designed for Pink-chan to reside in without making a fuss.

They were on their way to a secret meeting with some of the Eurasian Federation's officials. Though Kira didn't like walking into a place so hostile to Coordinators and he was wary of a trap, he did ask Captain Ramius to use her security clearance to pull some of the files on the officials they were meeting with and she had gladly provided them to him along with a caution about some increased Blue Cosmos activities within Moscow.

They approached the doors of one of the city's cathedrals, built so long ago in an age where the space age had taken its second turn to launching orbital platforms to the LaGrange points, and entered the gigantic building. A handful of worshippers only glanced up at them as they headed down the side of the pews before seating themselves in one of the pews waiting for their contact to take them deeper into the cathedral where the supposed meeting was to take place.

"It's very peaceful in here," Lacus commented quietly and he glanced at her as her eyes roamed the spacious halls and curving architecture.

"It's also one of the few places Blue Cosmos won't touch, at least not for now," a new voice behind them spoke up quietly and Kira spun around to see a face that he hadn't seen for over three years.

"Lowe-san!" Lacus smiled.

The spiked brown-haired teen grinned at them and Kira returned the smile. Even though he had no memory of Lowe Gear saving him after his battle with Athrun during the war three years ago, he did vaguely remember someone carrying him from the wreckage of the Strike to Reverend Malachio's house. He also had heard that Lowe had helped Lacus' _Silverwind_ escape from the Debris Belt after being caught in the crossfire of the _Archangel_ and its pursuing ships from ZAFT. They had met prior to the second battle of Jachin Due and both Lowe and the Junk Guild were of great help during the battle, fending off rogue forces separate from the main Jachin Due force.

"Lacus-san, Kira-kun," Lowe nodded his head, "I'm your contact."

"Are the ministers ready?" Lacus asked.

"Yes and no," Lowe frowned slightly, "the Junk Guild's been investigating them for a while now, as a favor to Princess Cagalli, and we can tell you that some of them just wanted you at the meeting so they can kidnap you while others who are unaware of this deceit, want to really talk to you."

"So why not separate them?"

"That's the problem. We don't have people within the group to separate the two," Lowe shrugged.

"We should still go; perhaps I can convince those that are still doubtful into a mutual agreement to render at least some form of aid from PLANT or Orb besides humanitarian help," Lacus said firmly.

"Never doubted you for once, Lacus-san," Lowe gestured for them to follow him and they got up and headed towards one of the side doors of the cathedral. The pilot of the Red Astray Frame lead them down worn stone steps into the cold darkness of the inner workings of the cathedral, holding up a glow rod to light their path.

They finally stopped at a wooden door that looked so ancient that Kira was surprised to see that the keyhole wasn't rusted over. "After you, Lacus-san, Kira-kun," Lowe opened the door and gestured for them to go inside.

As soon as they all stepped in, the door closed behind them, leaving them in darkness save for an unearthly glow of green cast by the glow rod in Lowe's hand.

"We're glad that you're able to come, Miss Clyne," a figure in the dark spoke up and Kira could barley make out the man's shape.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was also able to make out that there were five other figures besides the one that spoke, in the room. Two of the figures were definitely female. He knew that a Coordinator's eyesight was much better than a Natural's and knew that Lowe couldn't see a thing save for whatever his glow rod was shining on.

"Thank you for bringing her, Mr. Gear," one of the two females spoke up and Kira recognized her voice, but couldn't place where it came from, "there will be a credit deposit to your account by the time this meeting is over."

"It is good to hear your voice Rosalie. Were you the one to set this meeting up?" Lacus spoke up and Kira finally recognized the voice as belonging to the sister of the late Senator Ingriss. He had seen news footage of the younger Ingriss during the past year as she successfully made her bid to join the Earth Senate. She championed a vastly different cause than her older sister and was supportive of any measure to facilitate the peace between Naturals and Coordinators.

It had shocked the whole world because she came from the Eurasian Federation which was heavily rooted with Natural ties and Blue Cosmos rumors. There had been rumors spread that she was a secret Blue Cosmos supporter, but so far, Kira hadn't seen any evidence to support that claim.

"It was hard to convince my colleagues of your sincerity, but I've managed to convince them to at least hear you out," Ingriss replied from the darkness.

"Yes, please do tell us what you propose, Miss Clyne. Why would PLANT be so interested in the well-being of Naturals?" a gruff voice spoke up from the right.

"Is this plague something you cooked up?"

"Why should we even-"

"Please, I only offer the chance for our scientists to help find a cure to the sickness that has been spreading throughout this region," Lacus spoke up firmly.

"We'll have to alter our genes, won't we? Become more like _you_," one of the men in the room sneered.

"You don't know that," Kira started to speak up but stopped midway as Lacus touched his arm.

"We only want to help."

"Just so you can figure out if this 'sickness' as you call it, can jump from us Naturals to your kind, couldn't it?"

"Bah, I've had enough. We don't need those Coordinators to help us! We can beat this thing on our own!"

"Forgive me sir," Kira was surprised at the amount of steel in Lacus' tone and glanced at her and saw that her eyes were hard and unmoving. "But it seems that you weren't here at all to listen to my proposal. I may not claim to know everything about how Coordinators are different than Naturals, but what I do know is that Naturals are also injected with anti-bodies and preventative medicines that gives a boost to the immune system when they are just zygotes. It seems that there is a slight gene alteration-"

"How dare you!"

"Eric!" Ingriss' voice hissed from the dark before a slight movement too quick for Kira to see, but a clatter of something fell to the ground. He didn't want to know what it was that had fallen, but moved forward slightly to protect Lacus from any potential attacks.

"I am only suggesting that whatever this sickness is, it is definitely designed or evolved to a level where a Natural's immune system has been compromised. That being said, real illness is a rarity these days so it would be prudent for PLANT's scientists to investigate. It may be for the benefit of all of us. Would you be able to provide blood samples for us? We will share all findings and allow any Naturals who would like to observe the process to do so."

There was a pause before another voice spoke up, this one soft and almost grandfatherly like, "We will consider it, Miss Clyne. I will have Senator Ingriss contact you in the next few days regarding this."

"Thank you," Lacus bowed her head slightly, "I hope we will be able to further the peace between Naturals and Coordinators."

"You took a great risk coming here, Miss Clyne," the grandfatherly voice spoke up again as they turned to leave, sensing that the meeting was over.

"For the sake of peace, we all must take risks," Lacus replied before stepping out, Lowe holding the glow rod high so she wouldn't trip.

Kira followed after her and out of the corner of his eye, caught a glimpse of what looked like pink hair, the same pink color as Lacus' of the other female standing next to a few of the men before the door closed behind him. Shrugging, he followed Lowe and Lacus back the way they came.

They were only partially up the ancient stone steps when they heard the sounds of gunfire coming from above.

"That's inside…"

"Blue Cosmos?" Kira ventured a guess as he took Lacus' hand in his own and started back down the stairs, Lowe following them as they hurried down.

"For a blue and pure world!" came the distant cry followed by more gunfire and the screams of people being gunned down.

"Blue Cosmos," Lowe muttered as he brushed past him before leading them down a different hall way, "watch your head and feet, it gets cramped here."

"Do you think they knew about the meeting?" Lacus whispered as they made their way through a series of mossy and damp tunnels. The smell here was enough to make Kira almost gag from the stench, but he managed to keep his stomach from heaving.

"Possibly, I don't know," Lowe replied, "come on, this way."

"What is this?" he asked, feeling a squishing sensation as he lifted one foot after another from the muck on the ground. He actually didn't know how Lacus managed to keep her composure and barely make a sound in the muck.

"What used to be a subway system then turned into a sewer system," Lowe didn't seem fazed at all by what they were stepping on.

Kira managed to keep the grimace off of his face and instead trudged on. "Where are we going?"

"If Blue Cosmos is launching one of their attacks, you two will be safer with us aboard the _ReHOME_." Lowe called back before stopping in front of a ladder that led up, "wait here. I'll tell you if the coast is clear."

They couldn't hear the gunfire anymore, but they also weren't sure if Blue Cosmos had followed them after attacking the cathedral. "Hurry, Lowe-san," Lacus said quietly, but urgently as Lowe climbed up the ladder, the glow of his glow rod fading above them.

"We're good," Lowe's voice suddenly floated down from above them and Kira gestured to Lacus.

"Hold on to me, your dress would hamper your efforts to climb," he said and Lacus nodded before piggy-backing herself onto his back.

Kira easily lifted himself from the ground and started to climb up the ladder. He let a small smile grace his lips as he felt Lacus' comfortable weight on his back. She was surprisingly light for a girl of her age and height. They reached the top-end of the ladder without any incidents and as he poked his head through the top of the manhole, he was mildly surprised to see the horizon of a dirty street before metal replaced his vision and climbed through.

"Where are we?" Lacus asked as she was lifted off of his shoulders and back.

He scrambled up the rest of the way before standing up to look around and was surprised to find himself in a hanger very reminiscent of the _Archangel_'_s_ hanger bay. There were a few mobile suits pressed against the walls of the hanger bay and technicians were scrambling over some of them. He saw the distinct red-paint of the Astray Frame that belonged to Lowe along with a white-black and red trimmed mobile suit that looked positively fierce. He didn't recognize the suit but noted that it looked similar to the Strike.

"Welcome to the _ReHOME_, Kira-kun," Lowe's voice behind him made him turn to see the teen grinning at him.

"We've had her parked her for a while-" a more feminine voice spoke up before her words were suddenly choked off, "gah! Lowe!! What the hell did you bathe in?!"

Kira blinked a bit in surprise as he looked beyond Lowe to see two people walking towards them, a young girl probably no more than nine with short brown hair wrinkling her nose at them. Behind him was a young man, who might have had a haunted look on his face long ago, but it seemed that in the three years since the war's end, there was some measure of peace. He had long dark brown hair, almost a black shade and purple eyes that seemed to glitter with some hint of hidden emotion – of what, he didn't know.

"That a way to greet your fellow crewmate Kazahana? Come on! Gimme a big hug!" Lowe gave the young girl a big grin before stepping forward.

"No!! Stay away! You stink! You all stink!" the little girl, Kazahana, hastily backed away while pushing the other man forward, "Canard, you deal with them!"

"Kaza-chan! That's not the way to deal with guests! Especially _her_!" Lowe pointed at Lacus who was staring at their antics in mild amusement.

Kazahana made a small noise of surprise before hastily bowing down low to them. "Representative Clyne! I'm so sorry!"

"It's all right," Lacus smiled gently at her before removing the hood of her cloak, "and you are?"

"Kazahana Aja, ma'am," the girl replied.

"She's also quite mature for her age, but don't let that fool you…she can chat the ears off of anyone on this ship," Lowe placed a hand on Kazahana's head before ruffling her short hair.

"Hey I'm not-" Kazahana suddenly clamped her hands around her mouth as she paled slightly, "I think I'm gonna get sick from the stench."

"She does have a point, Lowe," the mysterious man stepped a bit away from Lowe, "you do smell."

"You're the one who said this was the best escape route, so it's your fault," Lowe shot back before turning to face him and Lacus, "forgive me, but this is Canard Pars. He joined us a few months after the war ended."

Kira noted that Canard looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place where and if he had ever met him before. Filing it in the back of his mind, he reached out to shake the man's hand. Just as their hands were about to meet, a sudden sick feeling filled Kira, and his eyes widened slightly before he clasped on hand to his mouth. He barely remembered falling to his knees as the sick feeling grew stronger and stronger, threatening to overwhelm him…

"Kira! Kira!" Lacus' voice seemed so far away but even as he stared up at her, it was like looking through a long tunnel. All he could see was whiteness all around him…he saw Cagalli at the far end, her eyes in tears, anguish written all over her face…

_KIRA!_

In an instant, Kira knew that Cagalli was gone.

* * *

**Copernicus** **City, Moon**

"Cagalli!" Athrun shouted as he skidded around the corner and saw her held limply in _his_ hands. He pointed his gun immediately at the stranger, "So help me if you've harmed her…"

"You'll do what, Athrun Zala? Shoot me? I don't think so," the stranger smiled nastily at him before shuffling Cagalli's limp form in his arms. Blood caked one side of her face and parts of her hair. From his vantage point, he couldn't tell if she was still breathing and prayed to whatever Gods existed that she was all right and not dead.

The voice was the same as his, the hair, the facial features, the posture, and hell, even the hair. But the personality…that belonged to a completely different person. "Who are you?" he demanded of the stranger that wore his likeness.

"I'm you, Athrun," the stranger gave him a feral grin.

"What's going-"

"Ah, Chairman, good for you to join us," the stranger twisted his smile into a congenial one and out of the corner of his eye, Athrun noticed the Chairman approaching and standing next to him. He hadn't even noticed him behind him before and was puzzled, but pushed the thought aside and focused on the stranger holding Cagalli.

"He looks like you!" Dullindal breathed in surprise.

"Who are you?!" Athrun ignored the Chairman's words and instead stared hard at the doppelganger that looked like him.

"Oh don't worry your head off, Zala, I'm not like Griever or any of his types," the stranger smiled, "I'm just someone who is good at his job."

"Griever?"

"How do you know about Griever?"

"Uh-uh," the stranger shook his head, "can't reveal all of my secrets right now, now can we? It'll spoil the surprise."

Athrun narrowed his eyes before Dullindal's hand rested on his shoulder and his grip tightened. He glanced up at the Chairman who minutely shook his head. "Rash moves right now are what's going to get us killed."

"I don't care," Athrun shot back, "my responsibility is to the Princess."

""Will you kill us here?"

"My mission target was the Princess, no more no less. Of course, I can't say the same for the rest of my Blue Cosmos companions who are probably coming around the corner, but I do suggest that if you want to get out of here alive, you let me go."

"Over my dead body!" Athrun stepped forward before the stranger's gun pointed at him.

"Move another step Zala, and I will shoot you."

"You would have done it already," Athrun said coldly, "I think you have orders not to shoot me or the Chairman because you want witnesses."

"You're right…" there was the sound of a bullet being discharged before pain blossomed all over Athrun's chest.

He stared numbly down at the spreading pool of blood soaking through his uniform before his arms and body started to feel heavy. "Wha…" he whispered before he felt himself dropping to the ground, his gun falling from his limp hands. Blackness swam in his vision and he didn't even feel his head hitting the cold metallic floors. His last conscious image was that of Cagalli, still held close to the stranger, unmoving, before darkness claimed him.

_Cagalli…_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I'm not adding the whole freaking crew of the _Astray_ manga, though some of them will occasionally pop up here and there. Only people like Lowe or Canard will probably play a larger role in this story instead of just being cameos. Anyways, yes, Athrun went and got himself shot up again – he should really stop doing that and no Griever is not re-appearing contrary to popular belief. And I have devious plans for everyone involved. Thanks for sticking with this monster of a story as it is still in its infant stages! Remember, all _Destiny_ related characters will be re-imaged into what I think they are supposed to be like since essentially this is my own version of GSD minus the stupid stuff they threw in there – oh wait, that was the whole GSD – just pure stupid stuff. Enjoy!


	4. The Reliance of Saviors

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

_A Sequel to Entropy Rising_

**Author's Notes:**

I have decided to rewrite _Gundam SEED DESTINY_ into following after Entropy Rising because it'll give me a chance to manipulate new characters! However, GSD will go through lots changes to make sure it flows with events following Entropy Rising. **No necessary viewing of GSD is needed, as everything will be explained (though I warn you, I will skew a lot things).**

**Story:**

_Phase Four – The Reliance of Saviors_

**Location: Aboard the _ReHOME_, en route to ****Berlin**

The quiet hum of engines was what woke Kira up and his eyes snapped open in sudden surprise. He was in unfamiliar surroundings before he sensed a pair of worried eyes staring at him and turned his head slightly to see Lacus, staring at him, her hands clasping on of his own.

"Kira, are you all right?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine…I'm-" he closed his eyes briefly wondering how did he get from almost shaking Canard's hand to here in the bunk….Cagalli! He immediately reached out with his twin link that he shared with her and felt…nothing… "Cagalli!" he opened his eyes again and attempted to stand up but a hand forced him back down and he glanced up and saw Lowe's stern expression, Canard behind him, an impassive look on his face. "Cagalli's gone! She's-"

"How do you know?" Lowe asked, puzzled, "we only found out a half-hour ago."

"I," Kira grimaced, looking away. He didn't want to reveal his relationship with Cagalli, especially since it was a highly kept secret. Plus it would raise too many questions, especially regarding their different last names and their parentage. "I…just know…"

"The news reports say that she's been kidnapped and her bodyguard, Lieutenant Commander Zala is also missing. Chairman Gilbert Dullindal was seen near their vicinity, but apparently he is safe on Aprilius One," Canard suddenly spoke up and Kira looked up in shock.

"Athrun's missing?"

Canard shrugged, "It's a possibility, but right now we don't know. He could have been taken along with the Princess."

"Blue Cosmos also released a message regarding the plague while we were in the meeting with the Federation officials," Lowe pulled out a small video screen and played the contents.

Kira listened to it, a frown forming on his face that grew deeper as the message continued. When it had finished playing he glanced at the three others in the room. "Who's Samael?"

"Most likely he's Murata Azrael's successor in Blue Cosmos. The one pulling the strings behind Talon and Sven Anderson a year ago," Lacus said quietly.

"It doesn't make sense for him to be involved with Mendel though," Kira commented mostly to himself before he noticed out of the corner of his eye Canard stiffening for a second before relaxing. "What?"

"Nothing," the darker-haired man shrugged.

"I asked Ezalia Joule to send me files of this Samael from her intelligence network and it would seem that he does have the money to fund Talon," Lacus explained quietly.

"Didn't you guys destroy them?" Lowe interrupted them.

"We did kill Sven Anderson," Kira managed to keep the grimace off of his face. It was bad enough to even think about the horrors he had encountered last year and to realize what he truly was – he really didn't want a reminder. He paused for a second, lost in thought before glancing up at the others, "What does this message have to do with Cagalli missing?"

"We think Blue Cosmos kidnapped her right after they broadcasted the message," Lowe replied quietly and Kira felt the ice that had been forming in his stomach, ever since he knew his sister and Athrun were missing, melt completely into a pool of dread. If Blue Cosmos had his sister…had Athrun…they wouldn't hesitate to execute them or even torture them just for the fun of it.

While he didn't know what Blue Cosmos would do, he did know that based on their tactics and ruthlessness against Coordinators and supporters of Coordinators – they had to find them fast!

"Orb and the Liberation Forces already know about the Princess' kidnapping and Zala missing," Canard caught his eye and Kira saw something in them that made him hesitate from jumping straight out of his bunk and to a communications console. "Running to the console to contact them is probably not the best thing you can do at the moment."

"Then what?!" still feeling somewhat defiant and odd towards Canard, he glanced up at the older man, challenging him.

"Kira," Lacus placed a calm hand on his arm and he glanced at her seeing her shake her head, "I know you're worried, but Captain Ramius has everything under control. She's sent out contacts and notified all of the Earth Sphere. The world, while is still in shock from Blue Cosmos' announcement, knows that they are trying to provoke a reaction. Senator Ingriss has even personally declared that the Eurasian Federation will aid in rescuing Cagalli. No one wants this fragile peace to break right now. We've all been through too many wars."

"They don't know her like I do," he muttered so that Lacus could only hear him.

"I know, I know," she squeezed his hand briefly, "I contacted Yzak and he told me he's already had a man on the inside of Blue Cosmos and is trying to find out the whereabouts of Cagalli, and also if she had been kidnapped by them."

"A man on the inside? Even we don't have those resources!" Lowe sounded impressed.

"Yzak was originally our contact inside of Talon," Lacus looked up towards the Lowe and Canard, "and to my knowledge he would have continued to become an undercover operative except he accepted a promotion within ZAFT after the Talon Incident. I'm sure he would have chosen someone who was very good at his or her job."

"We can't wait for results! We have to act now! Who knows what Blue Cosmos will do to Cagalli and Athrun," Kira fisted a hand in frustration.

"With that kind of attitude, it's a wonder OMNI still let you pilot the Strike back in the war," Canard sniffed and Kira stonily looked up.

"Got something to say?" he knew he was being difficult, but he had to press upon them that they had to find Cagalli and Athrun _now_…his gut told him that everything was about to spiral out of control and the whole peace they had been working on would be for naught. War would be brought back to the forefront of the world and people would fight once more. He didn't want that happening…he didn't want to see war again nor see his friends and family fight in a war again. It was too painful…

"Back during the war, I was attached to a special OMNI unit that specialized in some Black Ops," Canard looked reluctant to share the information, "and information along with waiting was what kept us alive. You go out there half-assed and shooting your mouth off, it can get you killed. It can get your friends killed. It can get everything you cared about killed."

Suddenly the dark-haired man spun and left the room, the door hissing closed behind him, leaving behind the three of them in quiet silence.

"He…lost someone close to him, didn't he? During the war," Kira asked softly, not looking at Lowe.

"You could say that…" Lowe replied evasively before clapping him on his shoulder, "listen, Kira-kun. I know the Princess means a lot to you, hell I don't know why, but I can see it. But you have to trust the fact that we'll find her and we'll find her soon. If Commander Zala is with the Princess, then he'll protect her with his life."

"I know," Kira sighed running a hand through his hair, "I just don't want to fight anymore."

"No one is asking you to Kira-kun," Lowe shrugged, "the way I see it, you're free to live the life you want. You don't work for the LF, you aren't part of OMNI anymore, and you sure as hell don't owe anything to the world. In fact, I think the world owes you, Lacus-san, the Princess, and Commander Zala. Let it repay you by finding the Princess and your friend."

_If it were only that easy_, Kira thought mostly to himself as he glanced up and saw a mild expression on Lowe's face that looked almost hopeful in ways. He unclenched his fist and sighed. "Where are we now?"

"Almost to Berlin. There's been some major Blue Cosmos activity, so the Captain's got us a course plotted there. He wants to figure out where the Princess is just like the rest of us," Lowe shrugged, "we're also meeting the _Archangel_ there for some refit and re-supply."

"Oh," Kira had forgotten that the _ReHOME_ was the _Archangel__'s_ tender ship during the war three years ago and was still occasionally its service ship since the two classes of vessels were equally compatible.

"Captain Ramius also wants to take both you and Lacus-san back to Orb since we're not headed in that direction anyways. But until then, you two can treat the _ReHOME_ like your own home!"

Kira resisted the urge to groan at the horrible joke and saw Lacus cover her mouth in an attempt to hide her smile, but he was glad that Lowe was able to cheer him up somewhat. Even so, his thoughts turned towards the special spot where he was able to _feel_ Cagalli's presence. It had him worried that he was completely closed off to her. He knew that she was not dead, he would have most definitely felt that…but it felt like something was blocking him from her presence…

What it was, he didn't know, but he hoped to get some of his answers in Berlin.

* * *

**Location: Aprilius One, PLANT**

The first thing Athrun awoke was to a very fuzzy sensation around his lips and upper body. The next thing was that there was something covering his mouth and nose, pumping oxygen. As he opened his eyes he saw that he was definitely in a medical facility, but it didn't look like any that he recognized.

"Sir, I think he's awake," a feminine voice made him turn his head slightly to see a nurse glancing over towards someone else in the room before a man approached.

"I'm Dr. Weiss Oligav. How are you son?" the other man asked, glancing at him before looking over the many monitors he was hooked up to.

"What happened?" Athrun managed to get out, trying to fight past the fuzziness that made him feel sleepy at the same time. "Where am I?"

The doctor reached over and took away his breathing mask before sticking a small sipping bottle of water into his mouth. He drank the liquid greedily and was glad that it managed to wipe at least some of the fuzziness away. As soon as the doctor put the bottle back on a side table, he turned back and gave him an even look.

"You are on Aprilius One in the Diplomatic Medical Ward," Dr. Oligav replied, "and you were in bad shape when we first brought you in. Luckily, we still had access to your ZAFT records so we were able to give you blood transfusions and sew up the bullet you took to your chest."

"How…long?" Athrun wrinkled his brow before a more pressing concern forced itself upon him, "Cagalli! The Princess! She's-"

"Easy son, easy," the doctor put a firm hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. Athrun forced himself to relax as his muscles and chest wound screamed in pain from his sudden attempt to move and get out of bed. "You're mostly healed as expected from being one of us, but you still have to take it easy. You've been unconscious for the past few days."

"But-"

"The Chairman's using all of his resources to find Princess Cagalli," the doctor stared at him, "and if I may add, he did feel very responsible for what happened to you and the Princess."

"The Chairman?" Athrun blinked in surprise.

"Yes," Dr. Oligav stood up and made a few notes on his clipboard, "Chairman Dullindal has taken personal responsibility for your well-being and for the search for Princess Cagalli. He's been using every contact and even has some of the ZAFT forces, the ones we can spare, searching for any clues of the Princess' whereabouts."

"I need to see him," he had been unconscious for over three days when he could have been searching or at least investigating the whereabouts of Cagalli's kidnappers, and that mysterious doppelganger who knew about Griever.

"Sir, I must insist-"

"Get me a cane or something, I don't care, but I need to see the Chairman right now," Athrun knew he rarely lost his temper, but he also knew that he couldn't be lying around while Cagalli was missing. His hands clenched in fists as he felt the weight of his failure to protect his best friend's sister, and his love. He should have been more vigilant and less hasty…getting shot in the chest was no way to help anyone.

"All right," the doctor's grave voice made him look back up to see a serious expression on his face before Dr. Oligav patted his arm, "I understand son. I'll let you see the Chairman, but only if you take it easy. Even though you're a diplomatic guest and have all the rights to leave, as a doctor, I don't want to see you further injuring yourself young man."

Athrun didn't say anything except to watch the doctor walk out and return a few minutes later with a cane. The doctor helped him out of the bed and for a few seconds, he felt like his legs had turned to jelly and tingled before his muscles slowly got used to holding his weight up. As soon as he was able to steady himself, the doctor gave him the cane and Athrun found himself leaning heavily against it. It was also then that he realized how stupid he had been, getting himself shot in the chest.

"There is a restroom over there along with a change of clothes. If you can successfully walk from your bed to there, I will notify the Chairman to expect you in a short while," Dr. Oligav gave him a steely look and Athrun nodded.

It was a painful trek to the adjoining restroom, but by the time Athrun finished a quick shower and changing into clean clothes, the pain from the rest of his body and his chest was starting to subside. He was grateful that he had been able to heal so fast. As soon as he was done, he stepped outside, still leaning a bit on the cane, and found the doctor along with an armed MP waiting for him.

"Chairman Dullindal is expecting you," the doctor nodded, "do you need directions or you know how to find your way?"

"I know," Athrun replied neutrally, memories of his late father coming unbidden to his mind. He walked out, still leaning a bit on the cane and headed down towards the Chairman's office, the MP following silently behind him. He ignored the whispers of various personnel, ZAFT members, and council members that were in the halls as he walked. After the war three years ago, he had sworn that the last time he walked the halls of this place was to pay his respects to his father's body and he would never see this place again.

It contained too many memories of his past, of what his father's legacy had created, and of himself. He steadfastly ignored the whispers before stopping in front of the door to the Chairman's office. The two MPs guarding the door knocked once before telling the Chairman that he had arrived.

"Enter," came the muffled reply before one of the MPs opened the door for him and he stepped in.

"You can go," Dullindal motioned for the MP who had escorted him from the Medical Ward away.

"Sir," the MP replied before saluting and turning around to leave, closing the door behind him.

Athrun noted that the room was still dimly lit like when his father was in office, but instead of having sparse furniture within the vast office, there was a giant monitor with projection screens towards one end of the room, some of them showing various television news outlets, others showing ZAFT security footage. There were also a couple that played talk shows or entertainment programming.

On the opposite side of the room was Dullindal's desk and the man sitting behind it gave him a congenial smile.

Athrun felt himself reverting back to his former gait and posture as he approached the Chairman, still using his cane for support, a residual effect of his ZAFT service. "Sit down Athrun," the Chairman gestured to one of the two chairs in front of his desk and Athrun sat, grateful as not to put anymore weight on his tired legs. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Athrun replied, "what have you got on the Princess?"

"Ah, straight to business I see," Dullindal smiled a bit at him before picking up a couple of sheets of paper in the mess that was on his desk. "So far, my contacts have turned up only rumors and hints, but I'm pushing them further to extrapolate to the whereabouts of Princess Cagalli."

"That's not good enough," he shook his head, "what have you got on her kidnapper?"

"Besides the fact that he looks like you?" the Chairman raised an eyebrow, "speaking of which, who is Griever?"

"A person of little consequence," Athrun replied coolly, not willing to share anything information regarding _that _touchy subject with the politician.

"Oh?" the older man stared at him before showing him the pieces of paper he had in his hands, "because I did some digging of my own and came up with some interesting reports from Captain Joule regarding a person named Griever.

"As I recall, Captain Joule was a special undercover operative of ZAFT during the Talon Incident and reported to both Chairman Canaver and to Lacus Clyne of the Clyne Faction. He mentioned in his reports of an assassin named Griever who was a suspect behind the Senate Building bombing a year ago. There is no photo of this mysterious Griever, but Captain Joule said that Griever died when the L4 colony cluster, Mendel was destroyed. What did, pardon me for saying this, but what did that doppelganger who looked like you mean when he said he wasn't like Griever?"

"I…don't know," and it was the truth, or at least partially. Athrun didn't really know what the mysterious man meant when he said that he wasn't like Griever. As far as he knew Griever was a clone of Kira, and how did Sven Anderson get his hands on Kira's DNA sample was a mystery to him, but he suspected it was probably from the genetic banks of stuff that was inside Mendel.

"Any information or insight you may have could help in our investigation into the whereabouts of the Princess," Dullindal stared at him evenly.

"Honestly, I don't know if Griever was the one who planted the bombs in the Senate Building, but what I do know is that he tried to kill the Princess during her stay in the hospital. The LF faced his forces again during our battle near Mendel and he was killed. Any other information regarding him is something that I'm not privy to," Athrun replied.

"But I thought you-"

"Chairman Dullindal," God how he hated politics, but he realized how much of it was ingrained into him by his father now, "I'm sorry. It may look like on the outside I am one of the senior members of the Liberation Forces, but I retired that position long ago to protect Princess Cagalli." There was no way the Chairman would get the secrets of Mendel from him. And while technically he was Cagalli's bodyguard, he still was a ranking leader amongst the LF forces, Murrue Ramius saw to that.

"Then let me offer you a counter proposal," the Chairman stared at him shrewdly and suddenly Athrun felt as if his words were coming back to bite him, "access to all of PLANTs exclusive files including the secret ones that we've been keeping tabs on the Talon and other revolutionary forces. While we may not know what Griever is, this will help you in your investigation to find the Princess. We can use your expertise and knowledge and together, bring down those who want to hurt her and hurt peace."

"Sir-"

"Please," Dullindal held up a hand, stopping him mid-word, "I know that in your position as the bodyguard of the Princess you are essentially cut off from all important happenings, especially since you're away from the Liberation Forces. I know that technically, Captain Ramius doesn't have to include you in the search for the Princess, and I can see that eating away at you. I'm offering you a chance for access to the same information she has and you to become the liaison between PLANT and the Liberation Forces."

"I thought Lacus Clyne held that position," Athrun narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering what the Chairman was getting at. It sounded all too fishy for him…

"Your fiancée does," Dullindal nodded, "and I am in no way usurping what she has done to improve relations between Coordinators and Naturals, but she's a civilian. You're military. This would benefit us greatly."

"You make it sound like you would want a marriage of sorts to happen."

"I know you keep secrets of the LF's military and I must admit, the Supreme Council has been concerned with the new weapons the LF has, but in your position, you don't have to disclose any of your secrets. All I'm offering is the chance for you to help us find Princess Cagalli. She is one of our strongest allies, and if we were to lose her, a Natural, this would greatly hinder relations between Coordinators and Naturals."

"It would," Athrun frowned, understanding the significance of the Chairman's words, but somehow, still felt uneasy.

"Athrun," Dullindal's tone made him glance up and he saw something akin to compassion in the man's eyes, "the fact that you've decided to serve as her bodyguard makes a lot of Coordinators here see Orb and the Earth in a new light. Due to your actions, the people here are slowly starting to strip away their prejudices against Naturals. What you're doing, however small you think it may be, has had a profound effect on your people back here."

Silence filled the room for a few minutes as Athrun stared at Dullindal, hesitation still clouding his features, but a small part of him sparked at the hope that he was giving to the other Coordinators that there can be peace between Coordinators and Naturals. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"If I join ZAFT, I will have to resign my commission from the Liberation Forces," he said quietly.

"Actually you may not have to," Dullindal replied, "you can be like Captain Joule and Lieutenant Commander Elsman. Your situation is more like Dearka Elsman's, but both are part of a special unit that are the hidden eyes of ZAFT called FAITH. FAITH rarely accepts any members only because it's our cloak and dagger unit. Yzak earned his way into FAITH due to his actions during the Talon Incident, but I was forced to put Dearka into FAITH only because it was the only thing that saved him from facing a military tribunal, court-marital, and dishonorable discharge."

"That's what I'm facing, isn't it?" a part of Athrun realized that as soon as he had set foot on Aprilius One, no matter even if the Chairman had saved his life, he would have been thrown into the brig as soon as he was healthy. A military tribunal would be set up and charges would have been brought up against him for desertion, stealing military secrets, and defection. It would have been a very short trial since he was still in possession of the Justice and was clearly a Lieutenant Commander of the Liberation Forces. Allies or not, joining up with another military unit during war was desertion and defection.

ZAFT couldn't bring charges against Lacus Clyne for 'stealing' the Freedom since she was a civilian, but the PLANT Supreme Council could have brought up charges against her, except to do so would have been a massive political suicide for the whole council. He didn't have that luxury or protection that Lacus had. Maybe that's why he had subconsciously avoided going to PLANT alone to visit his parents' grave or always made sure that he was within a diplomatic contingent when he did visit.

Dullindal winced slightly, "It's just a little worst than that."

"Then why place me in FAITH?"

"Because the black-ops group reports only to the Supreme Chairman, me, and to no one else. Your authority will exceed any ordinary ZAFT personnel and you would be able to avoid charges that way. I wish there was an easier way, but this is also an advantage; you also wouldn't have to be boggled down with red tape if you were just a ZAFT Elite," the Chairman replied before digging out a small pin that looked like the shape of a half bloomed lily, "what do you say, Athrun?"

Athrun stared at the pin for a long moment before he hesitantly picked it up. He looked at it some more before staring beyond it at give Dullindal an even look, "this is only to find the Princess. As soon as she is found and safe, I am resigning my commission."

"Of course," Dullindal nodded, "I know how much you want to protect her."

The sudden beeping of an incoming call stopped whatever else the Chairman was going to say and as the man answered his call, Athrun glanced once more at the pin before putting it on his left chest, right under where if he was wearing a ZAFT uniform his name tag would be. He glanced up again as the Chairman hung up on the call and noticed the man looked pensive.

"What?"

"I thought I would give you time to access our files, but right now there's a more pressing matter I need you to attend to," the Chairman clasped his fingers together.

"My main concern is to search for the Princess," Athrun reminded him in a warning tone. He didn't want to become an errand boy for the Chairman.

"Yes, it may relate to that," Dullindal suddenly brought up something on the screen and Athrun's mood soured. "I've just gotten word that Berlin's under attack by Blue Cosmos. We don't know if it's related to the Princess' kidnapping, but since we do suspect it's Blue Cosmos behind her kidnapping, this may have relevance to your mission."

Athrun was silent.

"I've sent orders to the _Minerva_, our new flagship, to aide Berlin, but I need someone with more experience dealing with Blue Cosmos and this sort of stuff to be there to help their Captain."

"And that would be me," Athrun replied.

"I'm truly sorry, Athrun. But perhaps you can find clues during the defense of Berlin to help you in your search."

"How do I get there? The fastest shuttle would take at least two days."

Dullindal looked a bit grim, but reluctantly brought up another screen and Athrun's eyes widened at what he saw seeing, "When the Gaia, Chaos, Abyss, and Stargazer II were stolen from Armory One, they weren't the only new mobile suits we've been developing. This is the Savior. We were hoping that she be put to combat testing during the battle to try to prevent its sister suits from being stolen, but we didn't have a spare pilot at the time."

There was an unspoken sorrow in Dullindal's words at the loss of so many people during the Battle of Jachin Due and in the Talon Incident that Athrun understood all too well.

"She has the speed of the Justice, though limited weaponry since we didn't put a nuclear core in her, but she'll get you there faster than any shuttle."

"Let's hope its fast enough," Athrun stood up, still feeling dizzy and weak, but his determination overruled whatever pain he was feeling. "Tell your men I'm going down there. I'll report back to you after I've joined up with the _Minerva_."

"Thank you, Athrun," Dullindal also stood up and offered his hand, "and don't worry, we'll find the Princess."

Athrun didn't say anything except to grasp the man's hand once before turning around and walking out, his cane still leaning against his chair. He didn't need a cane for where he was going. _Hang on Cagalli, I'm coming…_

Gilbert Dullindal stared at the door that had long hissed closed after Athrun Zala left through it, determined not to show any weakness that he had displayed when he first walked in. "Did you get all of that?"

"Interesting," a young man, dressed in more stylish clothes than Zala, stepped out from the shadows. His hair was an intense midnight dark blue and his eyes a green crystalline emerald. For all intents and purposes, he looked like an exact replica of Athrun Zala, except for the sardonic smile on his face and wicked glint in his eyes.

"Triton, follow him," Dullindal tapped his chin thoughtfully, "if he does anything contrary to the plan, kill him."

"With pleasure," the young man named Triton Lynd disappeared back into the shadows.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Yeah I know, having Athrun join FAITH again is like watching _GSD_ all over again, but this time, it's for different reasons. MWAHAHAH. I can assure you he's not going to go all weepy and conflicted due to his allegiance towards FAITH. And if you couldn't tell, Dullindal is much more manipulative in this story than he is in _GSD_. Heh.


	5. The Caged Trap of Peace

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Five - The Caged Trap of Peace_

**Location: ****Berlin****, Earth**

The first of the alarms blaring throughout the _ReHOME_ was what woke Kira up from his sleep. The second thing was the sudden jarring thumps that made him instinctively grab onto the sides of his bed lest fall out of it and onto the hard ground. His mind immediately realized that they were under attack and he scrambled out of the bed, dressing hastily in the spare clothes he was given.

Dashing out of his room, he ran towards the hanger bay, occasionally his hand steadying himself along the wall from the violent shaking of the _ReHOME_. He arrived at the hanger bay to see technicians rushing about, prepping the mobile suits for battle. A part of him recognized his instinctive reaction to jump into a mobile suit and pilot it, entering the battlefield once more and a sudden sense of disappointment filled him. Was he doomed to repeat the cycle of war, peace, revolution once more? Did a part of him really just want to fight all the time? Was that the Ultimate Coordinator's job – to fight and never to know peace?

"Kira!" Lowe's voice startled him out of his thoughts and he turned to see both him and Canard jogging towards him, both dressed in their flightsuits. He vaguely recognized Canard's color scheme on his suit until he realized it was the same one as the white-black, red-trimmed mobile suit he had seen standing next to Lowe's Astray.

"Blue Cosmos is attacking the city! Listen, there we have extra suits if you want-"

"I'm going to go to the bridge," Kira quickly said, cutting off any offer to pilot one of the Astrays. A part of him was afraid of entering the battlefield once more, not after he had told Lacus to take the Freedom away from him. He just didn't want that much power anymore.

"Oh, um, okay," Lowe looked a bit surprised at his comments, and glanced back at Canard who just shrugged. Kira thought he had caught a kind of unspoken signal that the long-haired man had sent towards Lowe, but the other man didn't seem to react. "Bridge is that way," he pointed vaguely in the general direction they had arrived from.

Kira nodded his thanks before turning around and brushing past them, headed towards the bridge. He knew that the two of them would probably end up asking him questions since they knew that he was the former pilot of the Strike, even if Canard didn't know he was the pilot of the Freedom, and he wanted to avoid all of that.

When he reached the bridge, he was mildly surprised to see it almost as large as the Archangel's, if not bigger, and saw Kazahana sitting at one of the weapons stations, her fingers flying all over the place. He blinked as he realized Kazahana was a Coordinator and mentally chided himself for thinking that the whole crew was just Naturals. Of course it was an Orb affiliated ship, why not have both Naturals and Coordinators working together.

He glanced up to see Lacus sitting at one of the communications console, relaying information, before she spotted him and gave him a small smile. He smiled back before deciding to join Kazahana at one of the weapons stations.

"Kira, can you help me calibrate the OS for the computers? We went offline as soon as we landed in Berlin hours ago to make sure everything was in good condition and now we're caught off guard. I mean, we have George doing as much as he can, but he needs to oversee the other systems as well and help with the defense of the city. I'm trying to get the weapons back online, but if you help me we'll be able to complete it faster, or at least you can do it while I'm go shoot down a few of these bastards," she said without looking at him, her words coming out in a rush.

Kira blinked at the authoritative tone in her voice before nodding silently and stared at what she was doing. He immediately began to input the routing commands and programs to get the weapons computer back online. If he didn't want to fight, at least he could help out with the defense of the _ReHOME_. "Who's George?" he asked in a half distracted manner, keying in the new program. He idly also made a few modifications to boost the OS's power a bit more.

"He's the Captain of the ship, though he is just a holographic computer simulation," Kazahana pointed towards the front of the command deck and Kira glanced up for a second to see indeed a hologram of a man walking about. He vaguely recognized the man until it struck him who the hologram looked like.

"He looks like-"

"I know, George Glenn, the first Coordinator," Kazahana replied, "beats me, but I think he _wants_ to impress everyone this way. Lowe wouldn't tell me, but he says a GG unit was created to store the previous captain's brain. I think he's lying, but the others also tell the same story, so I dunno…"

Kira wanted to ask what was a GG unit, but a beep at his terminal brought him back to the task at hand and he continued to bring the weapons computer back online. Beside him, the little girl was launching a few missiles to destroy some of the Strike Daggers that had gotten a bit close to the _ReHOME_. He could hear the distant loudspeaker cries of Blue Cosmos shouting for a blue and pure world and gritted his teeth. Damn all of them for trying to bring war back into their lives.

Couldn't they understand that war was tearing everyone apart once more?

* * *

Canard Pars was once a man with a broken purpose. He discovered a new purpose when he saw his greatest rival and the person that had truly changed his fatalistic ways, die in his hands. To truly follow his own destiny and ways, he had joined up with the crew of the _ReHOME_, hoping that he could atone for the destruction and deaths he had caused while serving in OMNI. As soon as the Armistice Treaty was signed, he had resigned his commission and took up Lowe Gear's offer to help out the Junk Guild. He knew that he would be forever watched by his former superior officers in OMNI, after all, he was a Coordinator, but he wouldn't be as scrutinized as Kira Yamato was because he didn't go AWOL.

He wondered how his former handlers would feel, seeing him battle Blue Cosmos. He knew many of them were Blue Cosmos sympathizers and looked at him with scorn when they found out he was a Coordinator, but he wondered if they really knew that he was a runaway experiment out of Mendel, discarded so carelessly by Dr. Hibiki, saved by a face he couldn't remember. If that secret really got out into the open…it would mean complete disaster.

The beeping warning of a missile lock snapped him out of his thoughts as he turned slightly and fired his submachine gun, his Hyperion Reshiki responding quickly to the threats that appeared on his tactical HUD. Though the original Hyperion Unit 1 was destroyed three years ago during the Battle for Jachin Due, he had been able to steal the plans from his former superior officers and spent time rebuilding his Hyperion with the help of Lowe, the Junk Guild, and even Serpent Tail.

He fired a few rounds into the Strike Dagger that was trying to ambush him before turning around and punching another in the face. Both fell to the ground roughly the same time, smashing a few of the ancient rows of houses and apartments into rubble. Many of the citizenry had already evacuated when Blue Cosmos began their attack, but there were a few bodies lying on the streets.

Civilian casualties, especially in a battle like this couldn't be avoided, he knew that, but it still irked him that some of the civilians hadn't heeded any warnings to run far away when the battle started. Turning, he targeted another Dagger and fired a few rounds, before ducking behind a large mound of rubble as the Dagger returned fire. Suddenly, a violent explosion threw him from the rubble pile and into a row of old apartment complexes.

Glancing up and wiping the blood from his split lip when he accidentally bit it while being thrown, he saw three rather odd looking mobile suits that were painted a dark teal-olive green color and had two arms of double-barreled gatling guns. His HUD didn't register their names, but he remembered reading about them back when he was still with the Black Ops of the Eurasian Federation branch of OMNI. These were old, ancient even, mobile suits known as Serpents…

He pulled himself up and moved to swipe at one of them when it suddenly dodged out of the way and he blinked in shock. He missed?! Impossible! Mobile suits that ancient shouldn't have the ability to dodge like their nimbler more updated cousins, the Strike Daggers. Even so, with that much armament, the gatling guns on each of its arms would weigh heavily upon the suit!

Gritting his teeth, he discarded his gun and drew out his beam saber before charging at the trio of suits. He ducked under a spray of bullets before swiping upwards, decapitating one of the Serpents in half before spinning around and kicking another into a pile of rubble. Quickly turning his attention to the last one, he punched one of its arms up, making pinwheel, unsteady with an unbalanced weight before skewering the middle of the suit with beam saber. Stepping away as the suit exploded, Canard focused his attention on the last one that he had kicked into the rubble pile.

He swiped his beam saber downwards, removing both of its gatling guns and missile tubes on its shoulders before disabling it with his beam saber. "_ReHOME_, request pick up of disabled Serpent mobile suit," he patched a link to the ship before a few warning beeps alerted him to more Blue Cosmos mobile suits appearing on his HUD.

"A what suit?" Lowe's voice burst over the channel and Canard looked around and saw a few feet away the Red Frame Astray beating back a couple of Strike Daggers with its beam saber.

"All right, we've got your current location, but we're still being hammered by the missiles. Do you mind clearing a path?" George's calm voice came over the link.

"Roger," Canard replied before leaping into the air and sped off towards one of the missile arrays that was harassing the _ReHOME_.

"Hey, what suit?" Lowe's voice came over, his face popped up in a small corner of the communications screen, showing him sweaty, a bit bloodied, but otherwise eyes shining brightly with curiosity.

"Serpent," Canard replied tersely, concentrating as he fired a few rounds from his beam rifle which he had picked up again after heading towards the missile arrays.

"What-oh shit!" Lowe's image suddenly fizzled for a few seconds before he reappeared, his cockpit smoking slightly and him looking a bit bloodied, especially with a cut on his forehead.

He took a quick glance and saw in the distance from where he was, the Red Astray getting up, a few dark marks on its armor, but facing at least a squad of four Serpent units, all whom were training their gatling guns on it. An idea came to him and he suddenly stopped his assault on the missile array and instead, jammed his hand into the part where the control booth for the array would have been.

Quickly bringing out a diagnostic keyboard, he typed in a series of commands, forcing the Hyperion's comm. channels to hack into the array's network and immediately wiped out the array's previous commands before inputting a series of new commands. He then ripped his arm out and let the last of the missiles in the array let loose their deadly payload into the group of Serpent units harassing the Red Astray, blasting them to pieces.

"-nard…-what…" his comm. system fizzled and popped and Canard frowned. Using his own comm. systems to hack in and hijack a missile array was dangerous, even if he was a Coordinator. Because he had quick programmed commands and let another system infiltrate the OS of the Hyperion, he ran the risk of not being able to reprogram his comm. system back to the _ReHOME_ and other frequencies used by their allies in such a fast amount of time and in a battle time was of the essence.

Quickly typing in a few more commands, he suddenly leap backwards, firing his beam rifle as he went, downing one Strike Dagger before nicking the other one, making it hesitate. He used that split second of indecision from the mobile suit to quickly hit his command, giving him temporary restoration of his comm. systems before shoving the keyboard away and dropping his beam rifle once more.

Drawing out his saber once again, he charged the remaining Dagger and bisected it before glancing over to the _ReHOME_ who had made its way towards the Serpent unit he had asked George to pick up. It was also then that he realized two things. His breath was coming in ragged and that his power supply was getting dangerously low. A low growl escaped his throat as his threat HUD still showed numerous Blue Cosmos forces still assaulting Berlin.

"Shit, I'm almost all out," Lowe called over the comm., "how about you?"

"Low," Canard replied curtly, gritting his teeth in both anger and annoyance. Where the hell was the _Archangel_? They were supposed to originally meet in Berlin for a refit and resupply.

His fingers hovered over the button that would link him directly to the weapons control station of the _ReHOME_ and where Kira Yamato was sitting. He knew that Kira had to be sitting at that station because there was no way Kazahana Aja would have gotten the station back online in such a short time in order to fire the _ReHOME_'s primary weapons system. That system had been originally dismantled for him to help rebuild during their trip from Moscow to Berlin.

He wanted to order Kira to take the Freedom and come back them up, but he knew he couldn't do it. It wasn't because of anything to do with honor or cowardice, but rather hearing Kira's words. The young man just simply didn't want to fight. And to force him to fight on the battlefield would have dangerous consequences. He knew that if a person didn't have the heart to fight, then just forcing him or her to wield a weapon would magnify the potential hazards and injuries that person could inflict on themselves or their allies.

Ordering Kira Yamato to take the Freedom and fight right now would be ordering their collective death warrants.

"Do you think-"

He cut Lowe's thoughts off with a pointed glare at the pilot of the Red Astray through their comm. channel, shutting him up immediately. He glanced at the tactical HUD and knew that a miracle was probably something they could use at the moment. There were simply too many Blue Cosmos forces for the _ReHOME_ to battle all alone.

"We need a miracle," Kazahana's young voice whispered through an open comm. and Canard gritted his teeth. It couldn't end like this…

Suddenly a giant broad red-colored beam of laser ripped through the advancing lines of Serpent units, throwing some of the debris backwards and created a gigantic afterwash of dust, wind, and rubble. The bright glare made Canard throw up his hands to block his vision and when it died down he blinked in surprise at the destruction in front of him.

"This is the Liberation Forces _Archangel_. Blue Cosmos, you are hereby ordered to stand down your weapons or else be faced with your destruction," Captain Ramius' strong voice spammed every comm. system in range.

Canard heard the distant cheers of the civilians who were still around and a wiry grin worked its way up towards his face.

"About time," Lowe muttered through their link before pasting a cocky grin on his face as he ready his Red Frame.

There were two more warships with the Archangel that his HUD identified as the _Wyvern_, Captain Haili Kawalsky's command, and the _Kusanagi_, Captain Quinn Misali's command. There were mobile suits pouring out of all three ships, mostly Astrays, but one custom one launched out of the _Archangel_ and Canard felt his jaw drop slightly at its familiar patterns and colors.

It couldn't be…

_Hyperion's nuclear core going into meltdown…_

_Saved…by his worst enemy, yet most compassionate ally…the only one who truly understood and changed him…_

"This is Lieutenant Prayer Reverie to all Serpent units and Blue Cosmos mobile suits, surrender, please. We do not want to destroy you."

_"Take my hand. I can't see well now…"_

_He gently took the young man's hand, surprised at such warmth in them._

_"…warm. I'm not alone…you're not alone…the power of feelings…binds people together," Prayer was fading, fast and somehow, Canard felt tears pricking to the corners of his eyes. Why did it have to be this way?_

_"…even me?" he choked out._

_"I'm glad…you were here…for me…"_

"Is that…?" Lowe whispered through the comm. channel, a shocked expression his face. Canard found that his mouth was dry and he couldn't even squeak a single word out.

"Prayer…" he mouthed silently.

"Once again, this is Lieutenant Reverie to Serpent units, please surrender," Prayer's voice broke through the comm. again and Canard managed to snap himself out of the funk he had fallen into and watched as the Serpent units' eyes suddenly flash, making a frown form his face, before as one they all suddenly backed off and retreated.

"All forces stand down and help the wounded," Captain Ramius' voice suddenly came over a broadband frequency and Canard deactivated his beam saber before turning to face the Dreadnought, which looked like it had been rebuilt and improved upon. His HUD marked the mobile suit as the Dreadnought Zero.

"Identify yourself," he patched a comm. through to the Dreadnought Zero, surprising himself at the harsh tone he used. He still didn't believe that it was Prayer in the Gundam.

"Hi Canard," Prayer's face popped up in a small communications window and Canard felt his breath hitch slightly. He could still see the young man dying in his arms… "We need to talk."

* * *

Kira let loose a sigh he didn't know he had been holding as he sat back in his chair at the weapons console and stared at the screen that was displaying all blues, indicating allies where within their scanners and the long range ones showing the retreating red of Blue Cosmos. He had a feeling that they would probably regroup and attack again and wondered if there was any chance that he and Lacus could return to Orb and continue the search for Cagalli before Blue Cosmos attacked again.

He wondered if he had done the right thing by staying out of the battle. Granted they were saved by the arrival of the _Archangel_ and two other LF ships along with their deployment of mobile suits, but if he had the Freedom could he have made a difference and succeeded in driving Blue Cosmos back so much that they didn't have to mount a counterattack. He had originally agonized over this sort of decision a year ago when Talon was wrecking havoc over Panama and he made the decision to return to the battlefield, but now…he wanted to move on, to get away from the fighting.

He never wanted to be a career soldier or career military. All he wanted to do was to help his friends in need and that was all. He didn't want the political responsibilities and burden that came along with such a position. Athrun was good at that thing, having grown up in PLANT and Lacus too. Hell, even Cagalli was good at dealing in politics, learning her skills from her adoptive father Uzumi.

He was just Kira Yamato, son of a high school teacher and happy homemaker.

At least that was what it was on the surface.

The revelations of his adoptive parents' backgrounds last year forced his eyes wide open as to who they really were. His father, former Black Ops, not exactly retired as he had originally thought, his mother, geneticist and scientist who actually worked on the Ultimate Coordinator project that gave birth to him; his real parents, all scientists and his real father, trying to make the perfect human being…maybe even the perfect soldier.

"We estimate at least three hours before they are able to regroup and return to continue the assault," Kazahana's voice broke through his thoughts and he glanced at the young Coordinator girl.

What did she fight for? Why did she go with the Junk Guild? He suspected she fought to protect her friends like he did, but what was the real motivation that allowed her to take up arms time after time again and not falter when she saw her friends fall in battle?

He had seen too many deaths in the war two years ago and nearly killed his two college friends Taylor and Haruka when they were manipulated by Talon into piloting mobile suits and fighting against the LF. He understood that protecting the innocents in Berlin from attacks by hostile forces was necessary, but did it justify the need for bigger and better mobile suits like the ones PLANT were building in Armory One before they were stolen?

The Armistice Treaty ended the war, but it lead to a cold war of escalation and armament. The Liberation Forces were created to keep the peace within the Earth Sphere, but had it created the need for escalation? While noble and well-intended the LF had been, he had a feeling that many in ZAFT and OMNI resented the LF's 'interference' into their own affairs. Maybe that's why Blue Cosmos was allowed to thrive off of the resentment in secret. While he knew from reading the LF's reports that they have been hard at work trying to eliminate Blue Cosmos, the group had been very secretive in their activities lately. And now in light of what had happened in Moscow and in Copernicus City…

Was all of this the result of his initial rebellion and desertion from OMNI and persuasion to tell Athrun to desert ZAFT and bring both the Freedom and Justice as a neutral force in the closing battle at Jachin Due? Somehow, he realized that he was at fault. If he had died fighting in the Pacific Islands, perhaps none of this would have happened and he wouldn't have to be caught up in such a moral dilemma of choosing whether or not to fight or to sit out.

He had taken up arms a year ago to bring his friends back and to find out the truths at Mendel. Having discovered the truth, he now felt uneasy, adrift, and most of all, lost. He didn't know whether or not to fight or to sit there and watch the world pass by him.

Part of him wanted to fight, wanted to help his friends. Yet, he knew that if he took up arms, then the cycle of escalation would continue. He knew that people saw the Freedom as a symbol, whether of fear, hatred, or awe, but it was a very powerful symbol, both metaphorically and physically. The signaling of the Freedom into the battlefield would tell others that war was imminent…

Even the Justice was rarely used in the year since he had left the LF to finish his college studies. He knew Athrun also had the same thoughts, but chose to pursue a career in the LF, unable to return to PLANT without diplomatic immunity and forever exiled to living on Earth. Athrun was known as the pilot of the Justice so people recognized him for what he was and what he stood for, but no one, save for the handful of people within the LF and Orb, knew that he was the pilot of the Freedom. That was why the Freedom instilled fear into the hearts of many and rarely instilled hope. All the masses knew was that whoever was the pilot of the Freedom, they were very powerful in their own right.

The tapping of his shoulder suddenly startled Kira from his thoughts and he glanced up to see Kazahana staring at him with an expectant look on her face. "Huh?"

"George says for us to go down to the hanger bay," the young girl said, shaking her head at his apparent lack of attention, "he wants us to get a look at the Serpent unit Canard told us to pick up."

"The what unit?" Kira got up, following her down to the hanger bay.

"I dunno. Canard called it a Serpent mobile suit," she said, "don't ask me where he dug that name from."

They came to the hanger bay of the _ReHOME_ and Kira found the mobile suit lying in the middle of the hanger. Beyond it was the Hyperion Reshiki and Red Astray in their docks, technicians swarming over them to repair them as fast as possible. Another Gundam stood near them, no technicians around it, but Kira didn't recognize the design or the paint scheme of the suit. He could see in the distance Canard having a rather heated discussion with some short blond-haired young man that seemed vaguely familiar to him, Lowe standing to the side, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Kazahana, do you recognize him?" he pointed at the blond-haired young man and saw her eyes widen in surprise before an unreadable expression settled on her face.

"Kira, can you check out that suit? I need to have a talk," with that she marched past him and towards the small group, leaving him blinking in her wake.

He shrugged and headed over to the Serpent unit, climbing up the utility ladder flushed up against the side of the suit, encountering a technician who was just climbing out of its cockpit.

"Sir, there's no pilot in side of it," the tech addressed him, glancing at his clipboard before gesturing back to the open cockpit, "in fact, I don't think there was a pilot in this thing at all when it first attacked us."

"That's not possible," Kira said, perplexed before easing around the tech and peering into its dark cockpit. There was definitely a pilot's seat and safety restraints along with some sparking from the main console. "Here let me take a look at it."

"He's all yours sir," the tech gave him the clipboard of notes he had taken.

Kira slipped himself inside the cockpit of the Serpent unit and gingerly sat down, orienting his body so that he was now staring upwards at the ceiling of the hanger bay of the _ReHOME_. To his right was what looked like the main computer console and he tentatively pressed a button. The screen immediately lit up and computer codes immediately began scrolling through the screen at a rapid pace.

His eyes and mind registered the codes as an encryption and he began to try to decipher the code and crack into the suit's OS. How could a computer unit be used to control mobile suits? Though Coordinators were highly skilled at programming complex OS to ease the ability to do things, artificial intelligence had not been created yet. He suspected that it would probably one day be created, but even that would be limited to probably just function control, not all out warfare in a mobile suit.

He distantly heard raised voices especially that of Kazahana, but his mind didn't really register it as he continued to work at cracking the code. A few minutes later, his eyes lit up as he cracked the code and he stopped typing for a second to absorb the translated information. A frown started to form on his face as he read over the programming the OS was showing to him. It didn't make sense…yet it did when all of the Serpent units had converged upon the _ReHOME_ in a final effort to defeat them. Only the arrival of the _Archangel_ and the two other LF ships stopped the attack, but still…

"What about the…" he muttered mostly to himself, typing in some new commands to bring up another prompt and read over the information in there. He was so absorbed in reading that he didn't notice a shadow until Lowe's scuffled face peering over the rim of the cockpit and only looked up as his shadow darkened part of the screen.

"Lowe?" he noticed that the pilot of the Red Astray looked a bit battered, but otherwise had a grim look on his face.

"You might want to come out and see this Kira," Lowe gestured for him to come out and he propped himself up from the cockpit, surprised at how stiff he felt. He must have been in there for a while if his muscles felt so stiff.

He stepped out and followed Lowe to where a small crowd of techs and the pilots had gathered around one of the _ReHOME_'s many vid screens. An anchor for ESNN, Earth Sphere News Network, was on the air and a topic bar graphic on the bottom of the screen was warning viewers the upcoming footage was potentially disturbing to young children.

"-received this footage from one of our sources placed within Moscow before the moments Blue Cosmos forces attacked the city. We would like to remind viewers that this footage may be disturbing to young children.

"In the moments after the man who has identified himself as Samael, Blue Cosmos attacked multiple cities on Earth, Copernicus City on the Moon, and stole the newest production of mobile suits from Armory One.

"We now have reason to believe that PLANT Representative to the Earth Senate Lacus Clyne may be among the missing in the attacks on Moscow…"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Somehow, I thought Kira's part was going to be shorter. Then he started to wax poetic and wanted to explain to me why he won't let me stick him in a mobile suit to fight with Canard and Lowe during the battle, preferring to sit out. I finally convinced him to at least help out Kazahana and he reluctantly agreed. Btw, anyone recognize the subtle (or not so subtle) reference to another Gundam anime I've stuck in this chapter? Heh. More to come folks! Shit has not hit the fan just quite yet…


	6. Doctored Deception

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Six – Doctored Deception_

**Location: 1,000 miles away from Kaoshung Base, ****ZAFT ****Territory**

Shinn rarely stood on the bridge of the _Minerva_ even though ZAFT elite pilots were welcomed there to give their input on any tactical situation that didn't require them to be in their mobile suits. It wasn't because he felt like he didn't have anything to contribute; it was because he respected Captain Talia Gladys' command a lot and therefore, didn't feel the need to be up there. Besides, he wanted to avoid Luna's younger sister Meyrin to whom felt like gave him the creeps. She was so cold and precise to the point where she seemed aloof from the others, unlike her sister who was friendly.

But right now he, Luna, and Rey had been summoned to the bridge. Captain Gladys didn't give any reason, but Shinn hoped it was new orders. They had been sitting at Kaoshung for the last two days, taking on new supplies and everyone was annoyed that they had been pulled from pursuing the Phantom Pain ship even though they were so close to capturing it before the Alaskan territorial waters.

"Our new orders are for us to aide the Liberation Forces in dealing with Blue Cosmos and their attacks. We have orders to head to Berlin to prevent the second wave of Blue Cosmos from destroying the city," Talia looked at them, her sharp eyes focused on each one of them.

"Berlin is Eurasian Federation territory, they won't like us butting in," Luna spoke up, puzzled.

"These orders come directly from Chairman Dullindal. He wants us to be an olive branch of sorts," the Captain replied.

"And probably to reassure the Federation that we mean no harm with the suits stolen from Armory One," Shinn glanced at Rey who was scratching his chin before pursing his lips thoughtfully. "Do you know which ships were sent by the Liberation Forces to deal with Blue Cosmos?" the blond-haired man asked.

"Not too sure, but I do know for a fact that the _Wyvern_ was located in London for some local peacekeeping before she was last seen heading south, probably rendezvousing with the other Liberation Forces ships and heading towards Berlin," Talia brought up a large map of the European, African, and Asiatic continents, all of them dotted with little colors of red, blue, or orange to signal enemy, allies, or neutrality.

Shinn couldn't keep the frown on his face as he saw his old homeland of Orb still in orange. A part of him still resented the fact that Orb was still declaring itself neutral and had created a force to combat any activities they deemed hostile from one side to the other, but he understood the need for such a force. But he still felt that by joining ZAFT and the PLANTs, he was making the right decision. Some Naturals just wouldn't listen to what Coordinators had to say and they sure has hell wouldn't listen to a tiny nation like Orb.

"My guess is that the Liberation Forces will send the _Archangel_ to Berlin to deal with the situation," Talia continued, tapping her lip.

"How do you figure?" Rey spoke up, his voice calm and collected. Shinn had to marvel at how his good friend could keep his calm in such a situation while he was just a bundle of nerves, ready for some action. He figured it was why Rey was chosen as lead pilot on the _Minerva_.

"Our friends with Serpent Tail let us know that the _ReHOME_, a Junk Guild ship, was last seen fleeing from Moscow to Berlin. During the war three years ago, the _ReHOME_ was a tender ship for the _Archangel_ and the _Kusanagi_ so it would be natural for Captain Ramius to repay the favor."

"Plus the _Archangel_ was last seen in the ruins of Victoria Base in the South African Union," Luna piped up, "it makes sense. It would be a direct line to get to Berlin from there. Any idea why they were there Captain?"

Their captain shook her head before glancing at them, "We're also expecting a FAITH member to rendezvous with us soon before we arrive in Berlin."

"FAITH?!" Shinn blinked in surprise. He had heard of the secret black ops organization that supposedly only reported to the Chairman of PLANT and never to anyone else. They had the authority to go anywhere and do anything. The most visible member of FAITH currently was Yzak Joule, decorated for his service in the war three years ago and in the Talon Incident. There were rumors that others were part of the special unit, but even then it was very hush-hush.

"It couldn't be Captain Joule could it?" even Luna looked surprised at the news. Only Rey had an impassive look on his face, but then again, Rey only showed one emotion, calm and collected. Shinn had learned from day one at the Academy never to play poker or any other game of chance with his roommate.

"I don't think so. It would be very inconvenient to remove him from command and to let his second-in-command to take over right now," Captain Gladys replied and Shinn thought he heard the undercurrent of resentment in her voice over the mention of Captain Joule's second-in-command.

All of them knew at least part of the story regarding Dearka Elsman and his desertion of duties during the Bloody Valentine War three years ago. He was also allied with the Freedom, a black mark in Shinn's book as far as he was concerned. He believed that anyone who betrayed and deserted their unit deserved a traitor's death. How did Elsman regain his rank and become second-in-command to two of ZAFT's ships was beyond him, but if he ever met the man face to face, Shinn wouldn't hesitate to punch him in the face, even if it meant assaulting a superior officer.

"Ma'am, we're getting a flash recognition signal from a mobile suit approaching us at three o'clock. The suit's calling itself the Savior," Meyrin suddenly spoke up from her station, bringing their heads around.

"Clear it for landing," Captain Gladys glanced at all of them, "let's greet our newest pilot to the roster."

They headed down towards the hanger bay and Shinn found himself eager to see who this FAITH member was. Rey had told him that there were rumors that the Impulse wasn't the only suit not stolen by the Phantom Pain members. Apparently those rumors were true since he had never heard of the Savior. When they reached the hanger bay Shinn glanced up at the bright red-painted suit and his lip twitched slightly. The Savior didn't look too impressive. Hell his Impulse looked even better than the suit and it wasn't pilot's vanity telling him that.

"I'm not impressed," Luna leaned over and whispered quietly into his ear, making his lip twitch again, this time in an effort to keep the smile off of his face. Trust her to come up with the snarky humor at the wrong time.

They all stood at attention in a row behind Captain Gladys as the pilot of the suit rappelled down from his cockpit and approached them. He had a lithe build and his walk exuded confidence and grace. Whoever the pilot was, he was sure of himself, and most definitely held himself with a slight swagger of an ace or at least a red-uniformed ZAFT pilot.

"Attention!" Rey called out and Shinn snapped to a salute, keeping his eyes forward.

In the next moment, at least almost all jaws dropped in the hanger bay as the pilot took off his helmet to reveal none other than Athrun Zala. Shinn nearly swore out loud, but was only silenced by the pointed look Rey was giving him before he straightened again and kept his salute. What the hell was Zala doing here?! Wasn't he a military member of the Liberation Forces? As far as he knew Zala had went AWOL during the Bloody Valentine War and to his knowledge pilots who abandoned their posts and defected weren't usually back in the uniform that they had carelessly threw aside. In fact, traitors were given a dishonorable discharge and either shot or put into jail.

His eyes immediately picked out the FAITH pin on Zala's suit and a part of him wondered if Chairman Dullindal was insane enough to pardon a traitor like Zala and let him back into ZAFT, much less FAITH.

"Agent Zala," Captain Gladys suddenly stepped forward as Zala returned their salutes, allowing them to stand at ease. "We are surprised by your presence here on the _Minerva_. May I inquire as to-"

"Supreme Chairman Dullindal as appointed me as a liaison between ZAFT and the Liberation Forces. Either Agent or Lieutenant Commander would do, Captain," Zala sounded completely different than what Shinn was lead to believe from the stories and press conferences he had heard from Orb. "I am here to investigate the whereabouts of Princess Cagalli."

Shinn resisted the urge to snort in derision, but it was hard. He had never liked Atthas nor any of the political ruling families in the Orb Council, partially influenced because of his mother's dislike of politics, partially because he believed that they couldn't accomplish anything and the debacle in which they had secretly built and funded OMNI's mobile suits prior to the Bloody Valentine War was proof of that. Though he sympathized with the fact that having Cagalli captured by fanatical Blue Cosmos forces was pretty bad, especially since Blue Cosmos hated Coordinators, it was her own fault for causing all of the events to bring Blue Cosmos to its full power three years ago.

Apparently his efforts were spotted by Zala who gave him a steely-eyed look and he instinctively straightened under the glare. He had never known the man to have such a fierce gaze about him…and it gave credibility to the stories he had heard at the academy that Zala was one of the most talented and fiercest pilots to graduate from there, beating most of his instructors before he was given the red colors of an elite and eventually his own team to lead.

"Your name?" Zala stepped away from the Captain and approached him.

"Flight Officer Shinn Asuka, sir," Shinn replied quickly.

"Do wish to add something?" Zala looked at him archly.

Shinn grounded his teeth for a second, fighting the impulses to speak his mind, the same impulses that got him into so much trouble at the Academy and during his first few months as a commissioned officer before his posting on the Minerva. "No, sir," he finally spat out.

"Good," Zala looked at him for a second longer before turning to Captain Gladys and addressed her, "Captain, my orders come from the Chairman. We are to aide the efforts to drive off Blue Cosmos in Berlin and also to find the whereabouts of Princess Cagalli and if so, rescue her."

Shinn blinked at the orders. They were to become babysitters and sniffers just for a wayward Princess of a nation that couldn't even keep an eye on her much less prevent her from acting so rashly at times.

"Understood," Gladys seemed unfazed by their orders and instead gestured for him to follow her, "if you'll come with me to the bridge. We are about a couple of hours out from Berlin. We have reason to believe that the _Archangel_ and _Wyvern_ are also arriving ..."

Their voices drifted away as they headed towards the lift to take them to the bridge and Shinn finally relaxed. He glared at the direction of the bridge and his hands curled into fists. "Shit," he cursed roughly before a gentle hand on his shoulder made him turn slightly to see Luna giving him a sympathetic smile.

"I don't think anyone of us expected it," she shook her head, "who knew…Athrun Zala, back with ZAFT, in FAITH even…"

"Not him," Shinn replied, brushing her hand off his shoulder, ignoring the hurt look on her face, "I don't care about that bastard. I can't believe we're going to be hunting dogs just because his stupid nation lost their dumbass Princess."

"Shinn!" Luna hissed in surprise as a couple of the other technicians like Vino stared at him in surprise.

"What?!" he glared at all of them challenging them to defy his words, "she's nothing but a spoiled brat with too much weaponry at her disposal. She brought war upon Orb and its citizens suffered for it. If it wasn't for her and her _father_ creating those damn Gundams in the first place, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

He suddenly turned on his heel and stalked off, headed towards his bunk room. When he arrived he shut the door and flopped onto his bed, his anger hot and burning him. How dare Zala come on board and make them search for Princess Cagalli. How dare he find the one who was the main cause of all of his misery. The same cause that had embraced the Freedom and murdered his parents and sister. The one who had brought so much war and despair to Orb, forcing him to grow up alone and grow up fast…

"Argh!" he shouted as he bashed a fist into the wall and accidentally switched on the TV in his room he shared with Rey. He glared at the offending images and was about to shut it off when he saw the grainy image of what looked like Lacus Clyne…

_"In the moments after the man who has identified himself as Samael, Blue Cosmos attacked multiple cities on Earth, Copernicus City on the Moon, and stole the newest production of mobile suits from Armory One. We now have reason to believe that PLANT Representative to the Earth Senate Lacus Clyne may be among the missing in the attacks on __Moscow__…"_

* * *

**Location: ****Berlin****, Earth**

_"In the moments after the man who has identified himself as Samael, Blue Cosmos attacked multiple cities on Earth, Copernicus City on the Moon, and stole the newest production of mobile suits from Armory One. We now have reason to believe that PLANT Representative to the Earth Senate Lacus Clyne may be among the missing in the attacks on __Moscow__…_

The video played footage of a slightly grainy image of a person who appeared to look a lot like Lacus, talking with the representatives that Kira had only seen just days ago. He had to admit, first glance, the girl looked a lot like Lacus, but upon closer inspection, there were subtle differences…

"Our source filmed footage of a meeting between Representative Clyne and members of the Earth Senate, discussing what seems to be a potential new armament deal that would benefit the Eurasian Federation," the anchor voiced over the video footage, "Senator Ingriss of the Earth Senate confirmed her meeting with Representative Clyne, but would not comment on the details, saying only that they talked about the future of the Earth and the Earth Sphere…"

Somewhere in the midst of the doctored footage, Kira had taken Lacus' hand and was squeezing it in reassurance while a part of him felt sickened at how the media, so oblivious to the fact that it was a doctored video, had taken it to heart and along with the source and reported it. Didn't they know that Lacus would never, ever agree to an armament deal, especially since it was directed at making a nation more powerful than its neighbors? That was what the Liberation Forces was for; to keep the peace and make sure that no one country had more power than its neighbors!

"I'm all right," Lacus whispered to him as they continued to watch the news footage.

"This is bullshit," Lowe swore behind them and Kira glanced back to see the red-headed man putting his hands on his hips in anger, "I mean, come on! Only Lacus is there! Where's me? Where's Kira-kun?"

"I don't think they know of you or Yamato," Canard replied, frowning at the footage, "this looks like it was taken with a high-spec telephoto lens…probably a Valkyrie Mark IV Eagle-Eye…"

"Wha?" Lowe looked at him, confused.

"I've used equipment like this when I was back with OMNI Black Ops…" Canard shrugged and Kira felt a jolt of surprise course through him. Canard was formerly OMNI Black Ops? He wouldn't have imagined a person leaving Black Ops, except for his father's circumstances or retirement like Captain Quinn Misali.

"Oh yeah…I forgot," Lowe scratched his chin, "hell, why don't we just broadcast Lacus-san right now and blow this footage to bits since it's faked?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea right now Lowe-san," a young voice, hovering in the stages of puberty spoke up and Kira glanced to Lowe's left to see a vaguely familiar blond-haired young teen with sparkling blue eyes. There was something awfully familiar about him, but he couldn't place it. What he was surprised to see was a pilot's suit on the young man's body and realized that the unknown mobile suit he had seen docked next to the Red Astray and Canard's Hyperion Shiki was probably piloted by him.

"I'm sorry," the young teen noticed his stare and gave him a sheepish smile, "I'm Prayer, Prayer Reverie. You must be Kira Yamato, the former pilot of the Freedom and you, Representative Lacus Clyne."

"How-"

"Reverend Malachio told me all about the two of you," Prayer gave them a smile before turning back to Lowe, "and it wouldn't be a good idea because right now I suspect Blue Cosmos is looking for Lacus-san."

"Huh? How do you figure that?"

"Simple, because Lacus-san is one of the cruxes of the peace we have right now. Her actions in the Bloody Valentine War have crippled Blue Cosmos to the point where they've slowly been gathering their resources, but with her actions and Princess Cagalli's actions in creating the Clyne Faction and Liberation Forces that has hampered their efforts. The attack on Copernicus City was to distract the media and others from the fact that their goal was to capture Princess Cagalli and I suspect that someone privy to your travel plans found out that you were in Moscow and attacked there, otherwise they would have left most of the Eurasian Federation alone since it was primarily sympathetic to Blue Cosmos."

"Then why have the media report that she's missing from Moscow?"

"Either to confuse the masses or to bait us into revealing that she is alive and well, which would give them credence to announce that they are only attacking Berlin because she is here," Canard spoke up thoughtfully.

"But the current populace would be unsympathetic to them, especially since they've set fire to at least a third of the city," Kazahana looked angry, "which brings me to another thing, Prayer, why the hell did you take so long? And so dramatic of an entrance, sheesh!"

Kira saw the young teen blush slightly before leaning to the side to avoid a swipe from the feisty little Coordinator girl. "I had contacted Captain Ramius to investigate the old Victoria base in Africa and we were delayed so it was my fault."

"In all seriousness, it means we have a spy somewhere in this ship," Lowe looked around, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Either way we will deal with that when the time comes," a new voice interrupted them and they all turned to see Murrue walking up to them, a grim smile on her face.

Kira nodded a greeting to her, glad that she had arrived to help them drive off Blue Cosmos' initial attack. For the past year since he had left the Liberation Forces and worked at Morganroete he had barely seen her, Murrue having assumed full command of the LF and gained the rank of Admiral, which meant that she and the _Archangel_ were deployed everywhere to stop potential hostiles and also to aid nations who were still recovering.

He had also heard that most of his friends from Heliopolis like Sai Argyle and Miriallia Haw had left the LF to pursue their own lives, though it was still rumored that Miri was still seeing Dearka Elsman. How they had worked out that long distance relationship was beyond him, but he hoped Miri was happy. His two friends, Taylor Ren and Haruka Sato were serving in other LF ships and he hadn't seen them since his graduation from college.

Still, it was good to see Murrue, even under the current circumstances.

"Admiral Ramius, it's good to see you," Lowe extended a hand and shook hands with her before gesturing to the others, "This is Canard Pars and Kazahana Aja."

"I've heard all about both of you from Lieutenant Reverie," Murrue shook hands with them before turning to Lacus. "I take it that the footage ESNN just showed was doctored right?"

"Yes…" Lacus replied, "I will need to return to Orb and address the Senate, especially since Cagalli is missing, but I will not let Blue Cosmos destroy this city even further."

"Understood," Murrue nodded, "we'll hold the line. Lowe, we're still good on supplies, but does your ship need anything?"

"I think we're good," Lowe scratched the back of his head, "but I'm glad you guys arrived before we got wiped."

"All right then, when you guys are ready, leave Berlin and head to Orb. The _Kusanagi_ will escort you-"

"Wait, wait," Kira blinked in surprise as a fierce look came over the Red Astray pilot's face, "you can't be serious?!"

"Lowe?" Murrue looked a bit surprised.

"I mean, we're not just going to let both the _Archangel_ and _Wyvern_ defend the city from that many Blue Cosmos forces! I mean, come on! We have the ability to fight, so we're staying."

"But-"

"Admiral, if the spy is aboard the _ReHOME_, then having us escape will be a moot point since they will be able to relay information and track us to Orb, thus more cities will be attacked and more lives will be lost," Lacus looked at her before turning to Lowe and the others. Kira admired the courage she was showing in face of what they were facing.

"I'm sorry Lowe, but I won't ask you, Canard, or the others to sacrifice yourself for my sake. I'll be transferring over to the _Archangel_ so you won't be in the crossfire. Thank you for your hospitality."

"But-"

"Admiral, we have a ZAFT ship approaching Berlin! Their captain is hailing for you!" George's voice suddenly spoke from the loudspeaker.

Kira's ears perked up at the message. A ZAFT ship? Weren't they busy dealing with the stolen mobile suits from Armory One? He would have thought that the suits would be a higher concern than sending a ship to Berlin. He quickly followed Murrue and the others back to the bridge, barley taking a second glance at the unmanned Serpent suit he had been working on.

When they arrived, he watched Murrue step forward to the communications console and pressed a button for a video feed. The face of a woman, dressed in the captain whites of a ZAFT officer with an unusual half-lily bloom pin above her rank and name pin filled the screen. She had short cropped dirty blonde hair and intelligent looking blue eyes, but her face was grim and professional looking.

"Captain Ramius, or shall I address you as Admiral?" the woman asked.

"Captain will do," Murrue replied.

"I am Captain Talia Gladys of the _Minerva_," Kira looked across the bridge's viewport to see an impressive looking ZAFT ship unlike the models he was used to seeing. He bet ZAFT had taken a leaf out of Orb and OMNI's books to create such a ship since it looked a bit similar to the _Archangel_. "We were sent by Chairman Dullindal to aid the Liberation Forces in defense of Berlin. I would like to talk to the other captains to coordinate a plan of defense against Blue Cosmos."

"I trust the Chairman is doing well considering the events on Copernicus City?" Lacus suddenly stepped forward and Kira watched Gladys' eyes widen in surprise.

"Representative Clyne! We thought you were missing!"

"It is another reason why these events must be stopped. The false reports will destabilize the peace we've had for the past three years," Lacus replied in a mild tone and Kira fought to keep his face steady in light of her veiled rebuke and disapproval at how ZAFT was building armaments during peace time.

"The Chairman is currently expending his efforts to locate Princess Cagalli. One of his representatives told us that there may be clues to the Princess' whereabouts in Berlin."

"Then we may have some information for you," Lowe stepped forward and spoke up, "during the last battle the _ReHOME_ picked up a Serpent mobile suit. Maybe you can send someone over to help us crack its OS?"

Captain Gladys nodded before glancing off screen for a few seconds before turning back to them, "I'm sending him over now. What's the current status for civilian evacuations?"

"Nearly complete. We'll need the _Minerva_ on the south side of the city to help finish the evacuations. Captain Misali of the _Kusanagi_ is currently there overseeing the evacuation effort."

"We'll be glad to give any aid, Captain Gladys out," the transmission shut down and Murrue turned to him.

"I take it that the unit lying on the ground is a Serpent unit?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded, "but it looks like only a computer program has been controlling it. No human pilot and a very complex OS."

"That's impossible," Kazahana looked shocked, "even PLANT hasn't created that kind of technology yet; artificial intelligence capable of piloting a mobile suit?"

"Hey Canard, how did you know it was these things were called?" Lowe asked and Kira glanced at the older pilot.

"Some of the more classified documents OMNI controls hold a few plans that theorists say were from a period way back when, probably over hundreds of years ago. Since Murata Azrael controlled OMNI for a while during the Bloody Valentine War, it's feasible he got his hands on some of those documents," Canard folded his arms together and glanced off to the side, "it still doesn't explain how they were able to produce an advance A.I. system."

"Do you think this person Captain Gladys says would be able to help you crack the OS?" Murrue looked at Kira who shrugged.

"I don't know, but it would be good to have another Coordinator look at it, no offense, Kazahana," he replied and the little girl shook her head.

"None taken, besides, I need to finish calibrating the weapons station that you've started to mess with," she replied before turning and heading back to the bridge. The roar of a landing shuttle's engines drowned out whatever Kira was going to say before he turned to stare at the incoming ZAFT shuttle.

Lacus gave a brief squeeze of reassurance before letting go of his hand and went to stand by Murrue, Prayer standing next to Murrue. Both Canard and Lowe were to the side and Kira stood a bit behind them, knowing that he couldn't stand next to Lacus for the fear of exposing their secret relationship. He could tell that both Canard and Kazahana were suspicious of his relationship with Lacus, but knew that Lowe would never tell them unless he asked for his permission first. Even though he had only met Canard and Kazahana a few days ago, he still felt a sense of trustworthiness from them.

The shuttle's ramp opened and two figures stepped out. The first one out was the distinctive white-uniformed woman with a short bob hair that Kira took to be Captain Gladys. The second person out made his eyes widen in surprise, shock, and a bit of dismay.

Dressed in the red elite ZAFT uniform was none other than Athrun, alive and well.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Originally this was supposed to segue into the second battle for Berlin, but the overall chapter was too long and so I had to cut it in half. My apologies if it sounds abrupt, but I should be done with Phase Seven soon so you can read it all in one go. I hope you're enjoying this story, and yes I will be dealing more with Prayer, Canard, Lowe, and Kaza-chan soon!


	7. The Freedom to Choose

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Seven – The Freedom to Choose_

**Location: Berlin, Earth**

Athrun knew that once he appeared in a ZAFT uniform there would be some looks of dismay from some of the people assembled, including that of Admiral Ramius, but he didn't expect to see it in Kira's face as blatantly as he stood in the back of everyone.

"Lieutenant Commander Zala, it is good to see that you are all right. We were worried when you and the Princess were reported missing," luckily, Murrue Ramius covered for the collective shock by stepping forward and he immediately saluted her to which she returned before shaking his hand.

"Thank you," Athrun replied formally, hoping that she caught onto the act. He still didn't want Captain Gladys, no matter how sincere she seemed to be, to know of the friendly terms he and Ramius were on. "Unfortunately Princess Cagalli still remains missing. Chairman Dullindal was kind enough to provide me with the assistance of PLANT providing I rejoin ZAFT to help find the Princess."

"After this fiasco is over, you will have to sign some non-disclosure forms since now you serve two different military entities," she barely flicked an index finger to which he caught the subtle message that she knew he was pretending to be distant from them.

"Understood. Now, Captain Gladys told me that there was a mobile suit's OS that needed hacking?"

He saw Ramius gesture to Lowe Gear and a long dark-haired man, both dressed in flightsuits, "Mr. Gear and one of the pilots of the _ReHOME_ were able to disable and capture and enemy mobile suit during the first wave of attacks. We've had Representative Clyne's bodyguard try to crack it, but he says that the OS is very complex and we would be grateful for any help you can provide. All data would be shared equally amongst the parties involved of course."

Athrun nodded before Ramius gestured for Captain Gladys to follow her. "Captain, a moment of your time? We'll need to coordinate our forces together to evacuate the citizens and defend against Blue Cosmos' next attack."

He watched the two women walk away, before breathing a sigh of relief and stared at Kira who stepped forward. "It's not my choice."

"You said you were done with war," Kira stared at him, his expression still a showing a bit of betrayal.

"Cagalli's missing. Chairman Dullindal offered the resources of ZAFT on the condition I join his personal elite unit, FAITH."

"FAITH? That's ZAFT's black ops unit," Lacus spoke up, surprise flitting across her expression, "they only report to the Chairman and their orders supersede even ZAFT commanders and captains."

"What happened?" the man named Lowe Gear asked, looking at him in concern, "we've heard the attack on Copernicus City, and that you and the Princess were missing."

Though Athrun didn't know Lowe that well, he knew that Cagalli trusted him. However, the man standing next to Lowe was another story. He looked like a fighter and based on the color scheme of his flightsuit, was probably the pilot of the fierce-looking mobile suit standing next to Lowe's Red Astray.

"Oh, don't worry Athrun-san, this is Canard Pars. He's good at keeping secrets, after all he was in OMNI Black Ops, but retired," Lowe laughed lightly before faltering under Canard's stony look.

Even though Lowe vouched for the man known as Canard Pars, he still didn't really trust him, especially in light of the recent events of Mendel and dealing with shadowy organizations. Even just finding out that Kira's father was originally assigned to kill him and his mother was still a shock.

"You can trust him Athrun-san," a youngish voice spoke up beside the others and Athrun blinked as he recognized the young blond-haired teenager, still dressed in a flightsuit.

"Prayer Reverie?" During the year since the Talon Incident, he had met the young teen a few times, Reverie and his unit operating on small missions that were assigned to him by Captain Ramius, but they were mostly a humanitarian aid unit. Reverend Malachio had recommended Prayer and his small unit of Astrays to Captain Ramius saying that the boy had a gift of bringing out the best in people and would be a great help to the LF.

"Good to see you again Athrun-san," Prayer nodded a greeting before jutting his chin towards Canard, "you can trust him."

"We were ambushed and Cagalli was kidnapped," Athrun curled a hand into a fist, angry at himself for letting the doppelganger that looked like him surprise and shoot him before spiriting Cagalli away. He knew that any good soldier would have been prepared for anything… "The kidnapper…" he took a deep breath and stared at Kira, "he looked like me."

Dead silence greeted his statement.

* * *

Kira felt his muscles tense at Athrun's statement. All previous thoughts of seeing Athrun in a ZAFT uniform and feeling betrayed washed away as shock filled the void. A doppelganger that looked like Athrun or was it something more sinister like another Griever-type of person? According to what had happened a year ago, Griever was supposed to be the only unique kind in existence. How could Athrun even have a clone of himself? Would Patrick Zala be so cruel as to create a secondary replacement for his child? Had he really fallen that far from the man that Kira thought he once knew?

"Do you think the Talon could be creating more people like Griever?" Lacus asked quietly, but nonetheless, Kira felt himself flinch involuntarily at the name. He knew that she would never say anything to hurt him, but even so, her soft words still felt like a blow to him.

"Who? Who's Griever?" Lowe asked, looking at them in puzzlement.

Kira didn't trust himself to speak and glanced at both Lacus and Athrun for them to explain. He knew that they would be as discreet as possible without giving away too many details.

"He was the man who bombed the Senate Hall a year ago and was originally sent to assassinate Cagalli. His features were uncannily similar to Kira, so we figured that was how he was able to plant the bombs in the first place and how he was able to slip into the Princess' hospital room," Athrun said, "when we confronted Talon's leader, Sven Anderson at Mendel, we discovered that he was…created to look like Kira…"

"So this Sven Anderson somehow figured out that Kira-kun was close to the Princess…hey I remember that there was a giant battle near Mendel at that time. Did he also pilot a suit?"

"Yes," Athrun replied and Kira glanced at Lowe, wondering what he was getting at. He noticed that Canard was looking a bit pale at the information given to them and wondered what the man was thinking. However, that thought was shoved in the back of his head as Lowe stepped forward, scratching the back of his head.

"So I guess someone figured out Kira was the pilot of the Freedom…and that the Freedom along with the Justice was to protect the Princess right? I mean, what I'm thinking here is that they probably thought, or at least Anderson did, was that Kira was an easier target to pick out and 'create' or whatever, some poor sop to look like him. I mean, if they pick you, Athrun-san, your face is too well known to be executed successfully."

"You do have a point there," Prayer looked thoughtful before shooting a glance at Canard, "however; this whole Mendel thing bothers me-"

"It was destroyed," Kira cut in, staring at no particular spot on the ground, "we blew it up along with all of its computer databases after Sven Anderson was killed."

"So then I guess we can rule out Anderson as the mastermind behind Cagalli's kidnapper…unless you can come back to life from the dead after a year?" Lowe looked even more confused.

"Or he could be someone with preprogrammed orders to execute in a certain timeframe," Canard's teeth were gritted and he looked a bit more stressed than Kira had ever seen the pilot before.

"That's too convenient," Athrun frowned, "why wait for Talon's destruction to execute the orders?"

"Unless Talon was just a front for another organization," Lacus looked worried, "someone could be pulling the strings from behind…"

"And kidnapping the Princess would be one way to start that chain," Prayer nodded, "but I still don't understand. If the person who looked like Athrun-san wanted to kidnap her, all he had to do was wait when her guard was down and take her from her home or even escort her. Why kidnap her when there was a Blue Cosmos bombing going on? What would that accomplish?"

"Fear…chaos…" Kira murmured quietly before noticing that everyone was staring at him and he squared his shoulders, "during my battle with Rau Le Creuset three years ago, I learned that some people just wanted to destroy everything and not care what happens. When he…when Flay was caught up in the mess, it was to intimidate and to distract me. It worked…"

"So the Princess' kidnapping was to do the same thing now? Which means your doppelganger may be working with Blue Cosmos…" Canard filled the awkward silence and brought everyone's attention on him instead. Kira shot the man a grateful look and was surprised to see something akin to a slight compassion in the older pilot's eyes.

"Which leads us back to the point…she's in Blue Cosmos' hands," Athrun curled a hand into a fist, "and they know that she is friendly to Coordinators."

"But they won't harm her," Canard spoke up evenly.

"How do you know that?" Kira and Athrun said at the same time, eyes narrowed.

"Because I don't think that's their goal…or at least not yet," the long dark-haired man replied, "she's the bait for now. Their ultimate goal is probably to get you, Miss Clyne. That's why I think they've doctored the video footage of your meeting with the other Federation leaders. They probably also want to get you, Commander Zala. After all, the two of you are the scions of your families. Once they have all three of you, they'll probably lure in the pilot of the Freedom…and that's you, Kira."

"But no one save for us and some of the Liberation Forces knows Kira's the pilot of the Freedom," Lowe swiped a hand down, "and what's with all of that doom crap? How the hell-"

"I told you, I was OMNI Black Ops," Canard looked pointedly at Lowe, "and my unit in particular was made up of a lot of Blue Cosmos sympathizers. You hang around them long enough; you start to realize how they think."

"And you didn't think like them?" Athrun looked at him with skeptical eyes. Even Kira was starting to feel a twinge of doubt for the man named Canard Pars. Just who was he to be so scarily accurate and to know so much? He glanced at Prayer who only had what could be described as saddened eyes before turning away a bit. What did Prayer have to do with Canard?

Canard smirked at them, "When you're a Coordinator amongst Blue Cosmos sympathizers, it's quite hard to think like them."

Kira felt his jaw drop slightly in shock. Canard was a Coordinator?! A Coordinator who was in OMNI Black Ops and who worked along side Blue Cosmos sympathizers?! What in the name of-

"Especially if they never let you forget it," Canard's expression grew hooded and Kira realized what had happened to the older pilot during his time in Black Ops. He was probably beaten, but kept alive to showcase his piloting skills… But one thing didn't add up…

"Why did you stay?" Lacus spoke up gently.

"I had a goal…but I realized after a long and lengthy battle," he glanced down at Prayer who gave him a sage smile, "that my goal wasn't my real goal anymore and I had to choose my own path.

"But if the Princess is within Blue Cosmos hand, then that computer core should hopefully be able to provide answers to her location, or at least the locations of various Blue Cosmos bases. With that," he looked at them with hardened eyes, "we should be able to use the LF's forces to thoroughly search for the Princess. If we can crack it."

"That may also put her in danger if we poke around the bases too much," Athrun said in a cautious tone, "but I can cross reference the data from the computer core with Chairman Dullindal's networks and also the LF's…"

"While you're doing that Prayer-san and I will be helping Murrue-san with the mobile suit defenses," Lowe grinned at them.

"I thought-"

"Nah, you eggheads should be able to crack that OS…" the flame-haired man clapped Canard on the back, pushing him slightly towards Athrun.

"Lowe, I would also like to go with you if possible. I would like to talk with Captain Gladys," Lacus gave Kira a reassuring smile before following Lowe and Prayer towards one of the shuttles to take them over to the _Archangel_, leaving the three of them alone.

"What did you do to try to crack it?" Canard started, breaking the silence as the three of them headed towards the Serpent unit.

"A bypass at first, but the system locked me out and so I tried another secondary bypass, followed by two routed commands, however, the system also locked me out of it. I had a funny feeling that it was learning, but I couldn't be too sure unless I had another person with me doing a secondary hack. I was going to ask Kazahana, but she was too busy repairing the weapons stations and getting the offline systems back on that weren't damaged in the initial attack," he said before glancing back at both Canard and Athrun, noting that his best friend was walking in a pensive silence, "Athrun?"

"Hmm?" Athrun looked up before shaking his head, "just thinking."

"We'll get her back, don't worry," Kira reassured him, knowing that his thoughts were on Cagalli. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Canard hop into the cockpit and rested a hand on Athrun's shoulder as they stood by the side of the suit. "It's not your fault."

Athrun made a noise of disagreement before staring at him with an expression he couldn't identify. It was like a mix of anger, betrayal, and pain… "It was not my choice…" he glanced down at his red uniform, "Kira…be careful. I don't know what's going on, but I have a bad feeling that it isn't as simple as just kidnapping Cagalli trying to get to Lacus and me. I didn't choose to become part of FAITH like Dearka or Yzak. I…"

"Athrun?"

"If anything happens to me," Kira still couldn't believe the words coming out of his best friend's mouth, "Gilbert Dullindal has all of the answers…"

"What are you saying?" he looked at him with a concerned look. This was definitely a change from the Athrun he had only seen mere days ago. This was someone who looked haunted and hunted.

He saw Athrun pick at his FAITH pin and red uniform before finally getting the subtle message. His best friend was telling him the truth earlier. He didn't have a choice to wear the uniform nor the pin. Apparently when Dullindal saved him, he had saved him on the condition that he join ZAFT once more. He knew that there were probably more political strings attached, especially since he had never known Athrun to return to PLANT ever since the Armistice Treaty was signed, but this was probably the gist of it.

"But…"

A sardonic smile appeared on Athrun's face, "Even so I fully plan to exploit it and use whatever resources he has to find Cagalli."

"Be careful," Kira warned. Ever since Eileen Canaver lost the last elections for Supreme Chairman, he knew that PLANT had been taking a more militaristic action towards fortifying its borders and allies. Lacus had long been a vocal opponent of such changes for the past year and even occasionally refused the Supreme Council's suggestions that she bring to the Senate.

"I will…" Athrun clasped him gently on the shoulder, "is there a way for you to ask your mother to contact me?"

"Why do you…oh…that…" Kira's gaze became flat and a frown appeared on his face. He didn't like to be reminded of anything remotely related to Griever or Mendel…but now that a doppelganger of his best friend had appeared, there was the possibility of a clone-brother to consider.

"You're right, the OS seems to be learning," Canard's voice floated loudly from the cockpit, interrupting their conversation and Kira just nodded at Athrun.

"I'll see what I can do," he replied before scrambling up to the cockpit and peered over the lip to see the older pilot half covered in wires, a glowing screen in front of him, illuminating lines of code and commands.

"Where's the secondary output?" Athrun asked, having gone to the opposite side and was digging around half of the wires for another screen and keyboard.

"Here," Canard pulled out a small screen and keyboard from the pile of wires and shoved it towards Athrun who took it, dragging a bunch of wiring out with him.

"Did you try a third route and bypass the command line before directing the loop towards the secondary systems?" Kira asked, eyes darting back and forth between the two who were typing quickly.

There was a pause before Canard shook his head, "It shut me down again. I also went and tried a few of my old codes that I used during my time back in Ops. It seems to like some of it, but when I started to manually input commands to open up its core system, it shut back down and pushed me out."

"That's odd…when you did that, I was able to slip in and poke around a bit. But when you were booted out, it also noticed me and booted me out," Athrun frowned, scratching his chin.

"What did you find?" Kira asked, wishing there was another keyboard and screen so he could try to poke around again.

"I couldn't get too far, but basis like the manufacturing code of the OS, its main system, some partitions, but nothing of value," Athrun replied before there was a shuffle of wires and Canard dug up another screen and handed him his keyboard.

"Here, you've had a crack at it the longest. I'll keep an eye on for redundancies or when the OS is about to boot you out. I also know what files to look for so I can direct you in, especially since it liked some of the Ops codes I've been using," Canard gave him a look and Kira reluctantly nodded, taking the offered keyboard and let his legs dangle on the lip of the cockpit.

"I would think that since it likes the codes you're using it would let you in more than us," Athrun frowned.

"Even my codes would have limits. If I make a mistake at a junction, all of the codes I've been using may be wiped out, especially if this is what I think it may be. Kira's faster than me, so he'll be able to spot it quicker. Besides, from what Lowe's told me, you two work well as a team," the older pilot shrugged before waving to them to get started.

Kira took the back-handed compliment in stride, wondering how Canard could know he was faster than him, after all, he was a Coordinator like him, but decided not to dwell on it and instead began typing, keeping an eye on what Athrun was doing at the same time.

For a while there was nothing but just the clicking of keyboards and occasional murmur from Canard to either Kira or Athrun save for some of the distant repair sounds from the end of the hanger bay. However, progress was being made and Kira was finally able to crack open a heavily encrypted file before quickly building a double-layered firewall to prevent the encryption from back-firing on him.

"I think I found something," he murmured before flipping the screen around to show Canard and Athrun."

"Those are…" Canard immediately had a worried look on his face, "I've only seen those plans, but…"

"They look like genetic files…why does a suit like this have genetic files in them?" Athrun scratched the back of his head.

"The virus that's been going around the Naturals?" Kira offered up.

"Yeah, but why would a Blue Cosmos mobile suit have it?" Athrun asked as Canard stuffed a small thumb drive into a slot and typed in a few commands on the keyboard that he offered down to him. As soon as the files finished downloading and the older pilot pulled out the thumb drive, a small countdown clock appeared on the corner of their screens and Kira's eyes widened in surprise.

"I don't like this…"

"Crap, it was designed to do this," Athrun swore before hastily typing in a few commands, but the clock continued to countdown.

"I can't stop it," Kira also furiously typed in commands counter to Athrun's but the clock kept ticking down. He glanced down at Canard who was trying to extricate himself from the wires before shoving the keyboard and screen to the side and helped the other pilot out of the cockpit, Athrun also doing the same. It wasn't a self-destruct sequence, he knew that, but it was definitely a timer to probably the suit's OS completely melting and they did not want to be near a melting OS' wires when that happened.

Canard's boots barely cleared the lip of the cockpit before a small beep came from one of the screens and a slight poof of smoke rose out of the mass of wires followed by a slight burning smell.

"Self preservation," he heard his best friend murmur before the sudden blaring of alarms cut them off and all of them looked towards the flashing lights.

"All personnel, report to your assigned stations, all personnel, please report to your assigned stations. We're currently under attack by Blue Cosmos forces," George's calm and authoritative voice came over the comm. system.

"Already? That was fast," Canard murmured before the three of them scrambled from the remains of the Serpent suit. "Here, catch," he threw the thumb drive to Athrun who caught it, "use your connections and see what you can find."

Kira saw Athrun nod before Canard headed towards his Gundam stopping briefly to chat with a technician before heading up to the cockpit. He turned to see Athrun heading towards the shuttle and wondered where was going.

"You can use one of the Astrays here…since the Justice is on the _Eternal_," he stated, a bit confused.

"I know…Dullindal gave me a new suit. Don't worry Kira, I'll protect you and Lacus…the _ReHOME_ should make its escape," Athrun replied before closing the doors to the shuttle.

Kira knew that Athrun meant well with his words, but he somehow felt a bit betrayed and hurt by them. It wasn't like he wanted not to pilot the Freedom or even to fight anymore… He just couldn't stand fighting anymore…he just wanted peace and he didn't want to feel like his only purpose in life was just to fight. He gritted his teeth before turning around and heading towards the bridge. The least he could do was help the _ReHOME_'s defenses and manning its weapons station.

However on his way towards the bridge, he never noticed the ominous and dimly pulsating light coming from the Serpent's cockpit…

* * *

Athrun hurried off of the shuttle once he made sure its landing gear was fully extended after docking on the _Minerva_ and rushed to the locker room to change into his flightsuit. He could already hear the sounds of battle and the distant thumps of explosives being detonated away from the _Minerva_. Rey, Luna, and Shinn weren't in the locker room as he changed and he figured that they were already prepping their mobile suits for battle.

Securing the last of his buckles, he grabbed his helmet and rushed out; pushing his way past a few civilians that had taken shelter aboard the hanger bay of the _Minerva_. He was surprised to see throngs of civilians milling about, albeit in a cordoned off section of the _Minerva's_ hanger bay. Judging by the conversation he had with Captain Gladys, the woman seemed like the one not to let any civilians through. In fact, according to the stories that Kira and his friends told of their tour of duty aboard the _Archangel_, Captain Gladys seemed to be more like Natarle Badriguel than like Captain Ramius.

He surmised that there were probably a lot of refugees from the first battle, so much that the ships were needed to at least provide some type of adequate shelter. The only problem he saw was another situation like the _Archangel_ encountered when it was still an OMNI ship. _Minerva_ was strictly a warship…not designed to sustain such a vast amount of civilians.

"Commander!" one of the technicians, a sprightly young teen, Vino was his name, called to him and he glanced up to see him jogging towards him, a few smudges of dirt and grease on his face. "Your suit is all set. The Impulse and both Zakus have already begun launch sequences."

"Thank you," he nodded before riding the foot hook up to his cockpit and hopped in and closed the cockpit. Strapping himself in he ran the startup sequences, feeling the familiar grip of controls as his Gundam came to life. He had a chance during his flight from the PLANTs to the _Minerva_ to read up on the Savior's specs and manuals and found while the suit was lacking in firepower, it made up for speed that rivaled even the Justice's.

"Meyrin, status," he called over the comm. to Lunamaria's younger sister.

"Impulse just launched. Both Zakus are now stationed on the platforms of the _Minerva_, providing long-range support," the cold and precise voice of the younger of the two Hawke sisters came back.

"Roger that. Savior preparing to launch," he moved the Savior to the launching platform. When he had briefly met Meyrin Hawke, he was initially deceived by her childish looks and thought that she was exactly like her sister, but her first words to him had blown that thought out of his mind.

"Savior, you are cleared to launch!"

"Savior, launching!" Athrun called out before the catapult shot him forward and he flew into the night skies of Berlin. Almost immediately, he fired his thrusters and swung downwards as a series of missiles exploded in the air. He had originally considered switching the Savior to its mobile armor flying mode, but a quick scan of the battlefield told him that hand-to-hand would be much more ideal.

Making use of his many beam cannons and weaponry, he fired downwards towards lines and scored of Serpent mobile suits, taking their heads and weaponry out. Even though his life-signs detector told him that there weren't any pilots within the suits, he still couldn't believe that a simple computer program could control the Serpent units; even though the evidence of a self-learning OS was in front of him when he, Kira, and Canard were examining the captured unit.

He landed on the ground and raked the battlefield from left to right with his beam cannons and rifle. A series of explosions toppled the Serpent units and he glanced to his left to see the Impulse cutting his way through a group of Serpents that were trying to ambush the _Minerva_. Shinn Asuka had a brutal style of fighting, he noted, and there wasn't any efficiency within his attacks with his beam saber. He was literally, just mowing down whatever appeared in front of him and that left some room for attack by the other Serpent suits still standing.

"Shinn, button up your defense," Athrun called out to the Impulse before dropping his rifle and launching forward to tackle another wave of Serpents.

"Whatever," came the curt, quick reply and Athrun found himself a bit annoyed at the cavalier answer he received.

"You keep getting hit like that and your battery will drain or you will be heavily damaged," Athrun cautioned before swiping downwards at two Serpents, cutting their gatling guns off. He spun around and kicked one in the legs, making it fall downwards before leaping backwards as a series of missiles from the _Wyvern_ peppered the area.

"Shut up. I know how to-"

"_Minerva_, eleven o'clock, two aerial units of Serpents coming your way," Athrun noticed the threat on the distant edges of his HUD and cut off Shinn by patching in the call to the bridge.

"Roger that, Luna and Rey are on it," Gladys' voice came back before the two Zakus standing on the platforms around the _Minerva's _boosters fired their heavy beam weaponry, reminiscent of Dearka's Buster Gundam's beam weaponry.

He noticed the aerial Serpent suits scatter a few of them exploding before more missiles launched from the _Minerva_ and blew the rest up. Grinning, he jumped up into the air, surveying the battlefield. There were a lot of enemies around, yet he couldn't spot the command ship which puzzled him. Where were all of these suits coming from and how far did they come without a command ship?

The sudden blaze of twin red beams cutting through half of the battlefield made him see the aftermath of the _Archangel_'_s_ Lohengrins destroy at least a good portion of the Serpent forces that had been converging on their position. He noticed Prayer's Dreadnought Zero charging through the aftermath, taking down the rest of the Serpents with some of the Astrays the _Archangel_ carried.

A bit away from the _Archangel_ was the _ReHOME_, sitting on the edges of the battlefield, occasionally firing missiles at the Serpent units that were trying to converge on the ship, but were still being held back by both Lowe's Red Astray and Canard Pars' Hyperion Shiki. Behind them was the rest of the civilian population of Berlin, all whom were still trying to evacuate from the city, heading southwards.

He looked northwards, where the glowing eyes of the Serpent suits were still battling it out and focused on a particular spot where most of the red eyes were concentrated. His HUD obeyed and zoomed in a bit grainy. Athrun stared at the image he was seeing before he realized what was happening. There wasn't a command ship that Blue Cosmos launched their attack from…they had an underground bunker of sorts that housed the Serpent units. Which meant…

"_ReHOME!_" he flipped on the emergency channel, "there could be Blue Cosmos forces under-"

Athrun was cut off violently when he was thrown forward into his cockpit, his restraints digging into his flightsuit painfully as explosions and missiles impacted all around him. His suit beeped warnings before he dropped his verniers and flew downwards, trying to avoid the other missiles that were targeting him. His HUD screamed a warning of at least two units of Serpents that had ambushed him from below, having seemingly burst out of a large fountain that was utterly destroyed.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, he turned back and switched the Savior into flight mode before leading the missiles back towards their masters. Pulling the stick towards him at the last minute, he zoomed upwards into the sky, just as the missiles impacted the Serpent units that had ambushed him, utterly destroying them.

"_ReHOME_," he patched his comm. again, avoiding the sparks that and bits of electrical lighting that skittered across his panel. "_ReHO_-"

Athrun never finished his sentence as he saw the tender ship suddenly explode from the inside.

* * *

Kira clenched a fist, staring at the weapons console on the _ReHOME_. A part of him wished he was by Lacus' side in the _Archangel_, but he knew that she would be much safer aboard the heavily armed ship instead of on a tender ship like the _ReHOME_. If things went south like they were going now, then she would have a better chance of escaping.

Suddenly he grabbed the corners of his console as a huge explosion rocked the ship. He released his grip when sparks shot out of his panel and arced up his arm. Hissing in pain, he shook his left arm, feeling the ends of his finger tingle a bit from the leftover shock and glanced up at the main control station where George's projection fizzled slightly.

"That wasn't from the outside, that was from within…" he barely heard Kazahana mutter over the blaring klaxon alarms before coughing slightly from the increase of smoke before the ship shook again, though this time a lot less forcefully.

"Everything's down captain!" one of the front bridge officers called, "we can't see! We're blind!"

"Shit," George cursed, "do we still have internal communications?"

"Yes, sir!" the communications officer replied, hunched over his station, coughing a bit, "but we're low on power. I'll try to boost the signal to get back ship to ship."

"Do so," George looked at the radar station, "give me anything you got, anything!"

"Sir, the surviving tech crews are reporting massive fires in the hanger bay area and spreading to the other sections of the ship," another communications officer called out and Kira narrowed his eyes in concern. If there were fires that meant that a lot of people were probably trapped. He glanced at his sparking station and knew that it would do no good to hang around up here…his station was completely fried and it would have to be replaced with a back-up unit from either the _Kusanagi_ or _Archangel_ after the battle, that is, if they all survived this.

Kira got up, one arm across his face to prevent himself from breathing in too much smoke and staggered to the door, occasionally splaying out his hands to steady himself as more explosions rocked the _ReHOME_. He could still hear George barking more orders to the crew and to get at least some semblance of command back together. He slowly made his way to the door and slapped the button to open it. The door groaned slightly before popping halfway open and he squeezed through.

As soon as he stumbled through the door hissed shut again and he picked his way through the small fires and debris that littered the halls of the _ReHOME_, headed towards the hanger bay. He had a suspicious feeling that the Serpent mobile suit was the one that caused the internal explosion. Nothing from the outside save for a direct hit from the Lohengrin of the _Archangel_ would be able to cause so much damage, especially to the bridge systems.

The most important thing right now while the engineers were trying to put out the fires and fix the damage that had been done was to try to save the lives of the tech crew and any civilians that had been caught in the explosion. He finally managed to get to the hanger bay, after helping a couple of other crew members manually push the door open to the bay area and ripped a piece of cloth from his borrowed clothes and covered his mouth and nose as he stepped into the smoke-filled area.

The blasting heat of nearby fires made him instinctively shy away as he searched around the rubble, noting that the blustery wind of Berlin was blowing in from opposite sides of the hanger bay and the night-filled lights of battle was visible. Giant holes on either side of the bay and the blackened remains of metal in the middle of the hanger bay told the story of the Serpent mobile suit's explosion along with charred remains of people who were unfortunately near the suit when it exploded. The twisted and warped metal along with the pungent odor of burning flesh made Kira gag slightly through his makeshift mask before he forced his frozen legs to move on.

He spotted an arm sticking out of a piece of metal slab and jogged over before kneeling down and touching the arm. The arm jerked and a wail of pain from behind the metal told him that a woman was alive, but trapped. "Hold on!" he called out before squeezing the hand in reassurance. He let the hand go and glanced at the metal piece pinning the woman down before discarding his makeshift mask and grabbed the slab and pulled with all of his might.

He distantly heard the cries of pain from the woman and knew that his efforts, while were slowly working, was also hurting the woman at the same time, which meant she probably had at least some broken ribs if not bruising or internal bleeding. "I'm sorry…" he muttered before finally, with an extra effort of strength, pulled the slab away where it fell to the ground with a clang.

When he turned back to stare at the woman and his eyes widened in surprise. "Miri?!"

"Kira…" she looked up at him with a pain-filled bleary gaze and he knelt down next to her, shocked.

"Miri…my God…what are you…what…how…why?"

She gave him a faint smile before wincing in pain as he grasped her hand once more, squeezing it tightly to reassure himself that he wasn't hallucinating and that it was indeed Miriallia Haw in front of him. "I'm…a journalist…ESNN…" she pointed to a couple of objects lying next to her and he noticed that it was a reporter's notebook and tape recorder.

"Don't worry, I'll get you help, all right?" he nodded in understanding before looking around and flagging down a medic. "Miri?" he turned back to her and noticed that her eyes were slipping close, her skin starting to become clammy and sweaty, a sign that she was going into shock. "Miri! Hang on! Don't do this to me!"

"I've got it, son, I've got it," the medic suddenly knelt down next to him and pushed him aside before digging into her medical bag and pulling out a few things. She suddenly stabbed Miri's leg with a long tube and her eyes flew open and Kira held onto her hand, giving her another reassuring squeeze of comfort.

"Don't worry Miri, I'm here…"

"Kira…" she breathed, staring up at him before the medic forced his hand to let go of hers and motioned for a couple of others to come by with a makeshift stretcher. He stepped back, not really noticing that his hand was covered in her blood as the medics all worked on getting her onto the stretcher, covering her wounds with bandages and setting up an emergency IV line.

He swallowed a couple of times, coughing a bit from the smoke he was breathing in as he watched them take Miri away to be treated and found his mouth completely dry. He never realized that his friends would have been in the line of fire. He had always thought them as invincible in an odd sort of way, always with the military or close to the military or politics. Never something like being a journalist or even having their normal lives back after Heliopolis was destroyed.

He realized that even though he had kept in touch with Miri, Sai, and even Kuzzy after the Talon Incident, he hadn't really kept _in_ touch. He hadn't really paid much attention to what they were doing or where they were…just assuming that they had stayed out of the limelight or were working somewhere where war wouldn't affect them. How very wrong he had been.

He glanced back to the spot where Miri had been trapped and realized that her notebook and tape recorder were still on the ground. Reaching in and over to pick them up, his eyes caught on a glint of metal further against the wall and he blinked, puzzled. As far as he knew, Miri was pinned against a wall of the hanger bay…and hanger bays usually didn't have extra metals…especially red-colored metals.

He poked his head out and waved a rescue worker over who had a flashlight. "Can I borrow this?" he asked, taking the flashlight and shined the light on the red piece of metal. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized he was staring at the bottom red piece that was part of a cockpit…part of the Freedom's cockpit.

"Freedom…" he whispered. So this was where Lacus had hid the Gundam after he had told her to take it away.

Suddenly yellow flashing lights stroked the room along with a higher pitched warning klaxon and Kira looked up and around to see what it was about and noticed a few of the radioactive signs flashing in warning, signs that he had never really noticed before when he first came aboard the ship. The _ReHOME_ didn't carry any nuclear weapons due to the N-Jammers on Earth and in space so why would the radiation detector go off? If Freedom was here all along then why would it activate the radiation warning signals?

His eyes tracked to the only other thing in the hanger bay potentially carrying a nuclear core and his eyes widened as he realized that while most of the metallic debris from the remnants of the Serpent suit was scattered around the hanger bay and outside, there was an indistinct lump of metal still sitting around the blackened floors…and he guessed that it was most likely the Serpent suit's core.

This meant Blue Cosmos still had kept the N-Jammer Canceller technology it received from Rau Le Creuset during the war three years ago. Kira swore under his breath before he scrambled into the Freedom's compartment and activated its reel line to get into the cockpit. The flash light he borrowed bounced all over the Freedom's armor, reflecting its still slightly battered frame from its immediate storage following the Talon Incident, but Kira knew that his suit was probably still in prime condition.

As soon as he was up top he scrambled into the cockpit and ran through the warm-up sequence in a hurry. Making sure his restraining belts were secured, he activated the main power of the Freedom and its eyes flashed as it powered on. He then proceeded to shove the hidden compartment door to the side and stepped out, noting the gasps of the surprised rescue personnel before he patched through to the bridge of the _ReHOME_.

"Kira!" Kazahana's surprised face popped up on a small screen to his left and he nodded grimly.

"I need you to get me a map of Berlin and point me to the nearest body of water in the city," he said urgently.

"W-Why?"

"No time to explain, Kazahana," he cut her off before she nodded and looked down for a second, her hands flying over the keyboard before she glanced up at him again.

"The Tegeler See is about three kilometers from you, where are you? And what mobile suit is that?"

"Never mind me, just tell everyone to clear out of the way," he reached down and plucked up the nuclear core, noting to his surprise that a timer was on it, signaling a countdown to meltdown, "the Serpent unit was a trap. It has a nuclear core in it."

"What?! But the N-Jammer-"

"Blue Cosmos received the plans during the Bloody Valentine War, I don't have time to discuss this. "

"But Kira-"

He cut the link off and stepped out the remnant of the hanger bay before his HUD pointed him in the direction of the Tegeler See along with a lot of red-dotted information, showing that his whole path was covered by enemy suits. He glanced over to his far right to see the distant forms of the _Archangel_, _Minerva_, _Kusanagi_, and limping, but still fighting _Wyvern_ battling the main bulk of the Blue Cosmos forces along with the other mobile suits. He knew he would help them later, first was to protect the civilians and injured people. Even though the _ReHOME_ was a bit far from the main battle that had migrated to the eastern section of the large city, if a nuclear weapon were to go off on land, then it would still mean complete devastation for the city and surrounding towns and countryside in the area.

In the air, the radiation would only spread and fall down to cover the land area. Submerged in water, while it would contaminate the fresh body of water forever, the damage would still be the least catastrophic than if on land. He didn't know how deep the Tegeler See was, but he hoped that it would be enough to contain at least some of the meltdown.

Hefting the beam rifle in his hand, he gently picked up the pulsating core in his other hand and tucked it closely to his body. Even in the cockpit, he could feel the heat from the buildup of the core and knew that he had to move fast. The only disadvantage he had was that with the core so close to the Freedom, his communications would be fuzzy at best so calling for help in clearing a path to the See was a moot point. The only thing he could hope for was if the core melted down before he got to the See, the Freedom's own body would be able to shield at least some of the damage and his own nuclear core would be unharmed.

He activated his vernier boosters and sped forward, targeting the closest Serpent units. Their eyes blinked a couple of times as they registered him, but he fired his beam rifle, taking out their heads and arms. Dodging this way and that, he spiraled through a set of them before kicking one in the head and using it as a launching platform to gain some more air. High above them, he triggered his Balaena plasma beam cannon and fired the red beams down upon a group of them, destroying them.

Kira weaved through the multiple bullets and beams that were fired at him, shaking a bit as a couple of them scored hits on his armor, but he kept plowing forward, all the while, noting the indicating rise in temperature in his cockpit. _Come on…come on_, he thought to himself as he focused his attention on the dwindling numbers to the See.

Gritting his teeth, he rolled to his right as a few missiles impacted the area where he had been and staggered, making him crash into a group of Serpent units. He immediately picked himself up and dropped his beam rifle before drawing out one of his beam sabers. Slashing the face of one, he bisected it and kicked it into two Serpents on his left before charging forward, able to finally see the edge of the See beyond a line of Serpents.

Activating his beam cannon again, he fire, raking the red beam across the group before sprinting to the edge. He leapt clear over the burning remnants of Serpents and fired his boosters before angling the Freedom downward and crashed straight into the murky waters.

Kira knew that the Freedom was most definitely not equipped for water combat, but he also knew that if he just left the nuclear core near the surface, then there would be a chance one of the Serpents would have gotten wise and shot the thing before it had a chance to sink. His cockpit flashed a red, indicating that he had to get out of there before risking his suit to sink or the nuclear core about to meltdown and finally let go of the core he was holding.

He watched it sink slowly away from him before bringing his verniers to full power and headed to the surface. As soon as he broke the surface, he patched in to the _ReHOME_. "Kazahana, tell everyone to take cover. I have no clue when this thing-"

A rumble shook the area before a huge explosion from the Tegeler See threw Kira painfully forward against his restraints as the Freedom was tossed ahead by the force of the nuclear explosion. His screens went static and the loud noise of destruction filled his cockpit before he was tossed around his cockpit, jarring the wounds he had received aboard the _ReHOME_.

Suddenly he felt the Freedom slam into something hard and the force of the impact made him hit his head against the back of his cockpit seat before stars appeared before his eyes and a wave of dizziness engulfed him. A few seconds later the roar of the explosion died and Kira lay on his side, staring numbly at the static and some sparking consoles that filled his cockpit. That was no ordinary nuclear explosion…

* * *

High above the battle, where no one could see with the naked eye nor spot with any radar, Triton Lynd sat in a pure white cockpit, the data streams of the battle for Berlin filling his screens. The only thing contrasting the white of the cockpit was his all-black flightsuit.

He tapped a few buttons, bringing up a few zoomed in video feeds. One of the screens showed the Force Impulse taking down a swarm of Serpent mobile suits before changing into Sword Impulse courtesy of packs sent out by the _Minerva_. One of his secondary objectives besides monitoring Athrun Zala's actions was to decide whether or not the Impulse's pilot would be returning to the fold…

Just then a screen popped up underneath the screens he had for keeping an eye on both the Savior and Impulse. It flashed yellow once and Triton looked at the image, an eyebrow raised in surprise. Yellow meant another one of his secondary objectives… The screen was showing just a dust cloud of something that had slammed into the walls of one of the old cathedrals in Berlin, but it was slowly clearing up and as soon as it did, Triton felt his jaw drop slightly.

The Freedom was here…

Suddenly a small text box appeared underneath the screen that was showing the Freedom, very battered and half melted from its proximity to the nuclear blast and four words appeared: [PRIORITY: CAPTURE THE PILOT].

"As ordered," he whispered before powering up the main systems and the legendary mobile armor, plans once thought lost for ages, came to life. Its name was the Dendrobium Orchis.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, sorry for all of the delay. I was originally going to decide to split this chapter up like I did with Chapter 6, but I figured you guys deserve an extra treat and since it is Christmas and the holiday season, here is the 15-pager chapter that I've been writing for the past 2 months. Oh yeah, I hope you paid attention to Kira and Athrun's dialogue along with the others, they become very important later on!!


	8. Shattered Confidence

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Eight – Shattered Confidence_

**Berlin, Earth**

Athrun had used the nearest object, which happened to be a Serpent suit he was in the middle of cutting down, as a shield when the nuclear explosion occurred at the river bed that his HUD had pointed out as the Tegeler See. The Serpent unit was now half melted all over his damaged Savior, making some of his systems fizzle and pop, damaged from the force of the explosion and heat of the nuclear blast.

When the dust and debris cleared from his monitors, he felt his breath hitch in shock. Many of the Serpent units and allied mobile suits were flattened and the swath of destruction from the nuclear meltdown was significant. He could hear the distant and muffled cries of the mortally wounded civilians who had still been evacuating the city as they sought to defend it from Blue Cosmos and his mouth felt dry.

For Blue Cosmos to use nuclear weapons…it meant that they still had access to N-Jammer Canceller technology, stolen from ZAFT three years ago. "Shit," he cursed, slamming a fist into the wall of his cockpit before he looked around some more. He noticed Lowe's Red Astray as well as the rest of his group approaching the battered body of the barely functioning _ReHOME_, the Astray's actions limping and heavily damaged.

He was surprised to see that Canard's Hyperion Shiki was not with them until he looked beyond the small group to see the Hyperion looking warily out at the forces, near the _Archangel_, the husk of the _Wyvern_ a bit beyond him, having taken the brunt of the nuclear blast wave, shielding the _Kusanagi_ who had considerably less firepower and shielding to properly protect it. The _Kusanagi_ had not been able to re-supply since it came from Copernicus City, having been diverted immediately to help with civilian evacuations in Berlin. It was just as well that the _Wyvern_ had protected the ship; it was carrying the most number of civilians from the city.

However, the _Archangel_ had taken on some damage as well and he noted to his dismay that one of the Lohengrins was obviously beyond immediate repair. Glancing to the _Minerva_ it seemed that the ship was the least damaged of all of the battleships in the group, but he also noticed Luna's Zaku was missing at least an arm and Rey's Zaku was like his, half-covered in a melted Serpent unit.

He didn't even want to consider the effects of the nuclear blast on the civilian population that had not sought refuge in any of the ships or far away shelters. Avoiding staring at the crumpled buildings too much nor some of the dark spots that he knew were the burnt bodies of those not fortunate enough to be instantly vaporized by the nuclear blast he noted that his HUD registered no immediate threats.

Suddenly movement from one of the half-collapsed cathedrals of the city made him turn to stare at it and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the struggling and heavily damaged form of the Freedom trying to pull itself out of the wreckage.

"Kira…" he realized that the Freedom had been hidden within the _ReHOME_ after Lacus promised to place the mobile suit in a secure place where Kira wouldn't have to see the temptation and burdens of his sins anymore. It was ironic that the _ReHOME_ was caught up in the battle for Berlin.

He immediately patched a comm. through to the Freedom, ignoring the sparks that leapt from his controls. "Kira! Can you hear me?!"

Static answer him, but the Freedom was still struggling to get out of the debris pile so he surmised that Kira was probably having audio problems. Judging by the horrific amount of damage the Freedom had taken, he figured that the Gundam had been very near the core of the nuclear meltdown. The fact that the whole suit wasn't destroyed was a testament to its construction and pilot's luck.

He was headed towards the struggling Gundam to help it out, when a bloodcurdling scream filled the comm. and Athrun momentarily froze his soldier's instinct all on edge. It was a sharp movement from his far left that brought his attention to the hurdling form of the Impulse, missing at least part of a leg, on a direct beeline towards the Freedom.

"Shinn! What the hell are you doing?!" he immediately patched an emergency comm. to the Impulse.

"I'll kill 'em, I'll kill 'em, I'll kill 'em!" Shinn' nearly inarticulate reply roared through the comm. before Athrun reacted by immediately powering his thrusters as much as he could given the damage the Savior had taken and whipped out his remaining functional beam saber.

He poured every ounce of power he could into his thrusters and just barely intercepted the wildly swung beam saber from the Force Impulse. Digging the Savior's feet into the ground before the prostrate and still struggling form of the Freedom, he ignored the spark of pain that shocked through his left arm as electricity arced throughout the control panel.

"Shinn!" he shouted over the comm., hoping to snap the younger pilot out of whatever the hell had gotten him like this. Why would Shinn attack the Freedom? They were on the same side!

"Get out of my way!" Shinn roared, breaking from his parry and attempting to slam his beam saber down again. Athrun sidestepped and pushed his shoulder into the Impulse, knocking it off balance before it tumbled to the ground, hampered by its missing leg.

"Shinn! Stop it!" he called out.

"Shut up! You don't know anything! He killed my parents! That fucking mobile suit killed my parents! Why the hell is it still here?! I'll kill him!" Shinn screamed before swiping at him with his beam saber.

Athrun tried to take a step back, but caught in between the Freedom who had freed itself from half of the debris and between a fallen Impulse, he was stuck and watched as the beam saber sliced right through his legs, sending him tumbling to the ground. His restraint belt bit into his shoulders as it caught him from slamming his face into his smoking controls and he glared upwards.

"Shinn-"

He was cut off from saying anything else when Shinn suddenly battered him with his suit's bare fists, knocking his beam saber out of his surprised grasp before literally pulling him up with his hands and threw him a few hundred meters away. Athrun managed to half land on the amputated stumps of the Savior's legs and looked up, shocked and surprised that Shinn was able to pull off such moves. It was also then that he noticed the battery power for the Savior was running dangerously low and his phase shift powered down, unable to keep up with the severe damage and draining of its core supply.

He could only watch as he saw the Impulse pick up its discarded beam saber and swoop downwards onto the Freedom, severely damaged to the point where its head was half melted onto the rest of its body and part of its body was completely blown away on one side. "KIRA!" he yelled, trying desperately to warn his best friend, hoping that his best friend's comm. system was still working.

Suddenly the rapid fire beeping from his barely working HUD warned him of incoming missiles and he looked up his jaw dropping in shock at the sheer amount coming towards them from out of nowhere…and time seemed to slow down.

"Athrun!" Prayer's voice blared over the comm. before his vision was engulfed in the form of the Dreadnought Zero boldly lifting the remnants of his Savior upwards and away from the two combatants. Shinn's beam saber was still on a downward trek towards the Freedom when his phase shift abruptly disappeared just as the missiles impacted the area.

He threw up his hands to shield his eyes from the glare of the missiles exploding all over the place before struggling against the Dreadnought. "No…no…Kira! Prayer! We have to-"

His words were stuck in his throat as he saw a gigantic white mobile armor descend from the clouds and sky and hover over the area, its menacing gaze sweeping across the whole battlefield. Its pristine and sinister white armor reflected off the dusky sky. It was completely massive, and in the middle of the armor, he could see the small form of the mobile suit itself, carrying all of the armor's weight and attachments. The armament in the mobile armor reminded him of the deadly METEOR systems the Justice and Freedom originally used before they were destroyed in the war four years ago.

There was no identification for the armor but Athrun somehow knew that it was not an ally. His comm. started to fill with chatter from the ships and he could hear Captain Ramius shouting orders to the _Kusanagi_ and _Minerva_ to try to flank the new enemy, but he didn't really pay attention to what she was really saying and instead, focused his gaze on the billowing and dissipating cloud of smoke and debris generated from the missile impacts.

The Freedom and Force Impulse had been caught in the middle of it…

* * *

Kira blinked fuzzily from where he had hit his head against the side of his console. He could feel blood dripping from his head down to his lips and spit out part of the coppery taste. His wounds screamed in pain as he winced and tried to adjust himself. Part of the cockpit wall caved in on him, making the dust and debris that had not settled blow into the cockpit from a partial opening.

He cough slightly, wracking his body with a fresh new round of pain and blearily looked up to his barely function HUD, occasionally fizzling out from the enormous amount of damage he had suffered from both the unnatural nuclear explosion in the Tegler See and from the rain of missiles that had impacted the area he and the Impulse had been in.

He had been in the midst of extracting himself out of the debris when he heard Athrun's comm. chatter, but found that his own comm. system was damaged to the point of no repair and thus couldn't respond. He had tried to wave to Athrun to tell him that he was all right, albeit for a very damaged Gundam when the Impulse's pilot's sickening cry roared throughout the comm. system and he saw the agile Gundam angling down at him, a diving kill.

He didn't know why the pilot of the Impulse wanted to kill him, but he suspected it was probably either something to do with the Talon Incident, Bloody Valentine, or part of him even suspected the pilot was somehow brainwashed like his college friend Taylor Ren and Haruka Sato were last year. It was also then that he realized almost all of his weapons had been destroyed, leaving him with only a combat knife for defense. Athrun had come to his rescue even though his suit was also damaged and had repelled the Impulse's initial attack, yelling at the pilot named Shinn.

He thought his best friend would have the upper hand until Shinn seemingly dodged a blow and threw Athrun a few hundred meters away, surprising him. Whoever Shinn was, he deserved the recognition of a red-coat ZAFT pilot and Kira had been readying his combat knife, readying himself to go to seed-mode to dodge the next wild attack from Shinn and the Impulse.

It was in mid-strike when the missiles rained down and the phase shift on the Impulse wore off, leaving both of them battered and vulnerable. He had raised his hands in futile gesture to protect himself and the Freedom's nuclear core from the damage, but as he peered through the dissipating smoke, dust, and debris, he saw that both of his arms were gone and his combat knife was most definitely destroyed. He set his mouth in a grim line as he saw the new combatant enter the battlefield, mobile armor bristling with deadly armaments…

There was no information from the HUD to help him identify what the suit was, but then again, Kira had only seen images in the history books that he read for one of his college classes. The Dendrobium Stamen described the mobile suit controlling the mobile armor. The mobile armor combined with the Stamen itself was called the Dendrobium Orchis and it was the precursor to the METEOR systems that he and Athrun used during the war four years ago. Kira suspected that was probably where ZAFT had gotten the idea from…but to see the actual mobile armor with its fearsome armament here on the battlefield…

His eyes widened in shock as he suddenly saw a very fast moving red laser cut through the battlefield from the Dendrobium before explosions littered the area and through the ensuing debris cloud, he saw the distant forms of the Dreadnought leaping backwards, carrying the remnants of Athrun's Savior, just barely avoiding the deadly laser beam.

His cockpit rumbled and shook before a series of explosions ruptured throughout the top and bottom half, making him cry out and throw up his arms to protect his face. He dimly realized throughout the haze of pain from the cuts he received and from the embedded shrapnel, that the laser had bisected parts of his cockpit, barely missing him. And somewhere in the shattering pain before he lost consciousness from the amount of blood he had lost, he realized that the Dendrobium wanted to capture him…

* * *

Athrun watched with horrified eyes as he saw the remains of the Freedom completely dissected into three pieces, the precise red laser barely missing the parts of the cockpit that he knew Kira sat in. It was then that he also realized that the Dendrobium could have easily destroyed the Freedom in one fell swoop, but instead, looked like it was trying to capture the pilot intact.

He didn't realize that he had said his words over the comm. until Prayer's gentle voice broke his thoughts, "They want the pilot of the Freedom…and they already have Princess Cagalli…"

"Bastards," he swore before glaring at the younger teen, "let me go! They're not getting Kira! So help me God-"

"What!" Prayer's expression turned fierce, "do you really think you can do some good out there right now?! We don't even know what the heck we're facing out there Athrun-san!"

"I don't care! If that mobile armor is working for Blue Cosmos then we're all screwed!"

"You're suit doesn't even have anymore juice left for phase shifting, let alone combating something of that size!"

"So?! Then you go!"

"I…" Prayer suddenly looked stricken and make a clawing motion off the screen that Athrun barely caught, but his face had morphed into a barely restrained mask of pain, "I can't…not…"

"This is Admiral Ramius of the _Archangel_ to hostile mobile armor. Cease and desist your attack or we will fire," Ramius' face suddenly popped up on a broadband broadcast.

Silence reigned over the other end of the comm. system before a very familiar laughter filled the comm. and Athrun shuddered slightly, a pit of dread welling in him as he recognized the sound of laughter. It was almost as if he was laughing, yet it sounded so sinister. The pilot of the mobile armor's image popped up and his face was obscure by shadows before he took off his helmet and Athrun found himself staring into the face of his doppelganger…the same one that had kidnapped Cagalli.

"Your words are idle threat Admiral. The _Archangel_-"

The red laser suddenly shot out and destroyed the other Lohengrin aboard the warship before raking its deadly fire to destroy the _Minerva's_ Lohengrin-bow gun.

"-is no more of a threat like a fly to a swatter. You are all welcomed to your deaths should you want to try to rescue your pilots here, but I recommend against doing so. My superior feels that the pilot of the Freedom is a valuable asset, one highly prized for his abilities and you will not stop me from my mission."

"Are you Blue Cosmos?" Ramius' face had gone white, her lips pressed into a very thin angry line.

"Admiral, we are concerned citizens…" his doppelganger smiled congenially before looking down at something, "oh dear…"

The war cry of Canard Pars charging towards the mobile armor briefly tore Athrun's smoldering gaze from staring at his doppelganger's face just in time to see the Hyperion Shiki duck and dodge under the red laser beam, before suddenly blown back by a series of energy shields that looked suspiciously like the Armure Lumiere or umbrella shield the Artemis asteroid had.

"What the-" Canard's surprised exclamation was cut off as missiles suddenly flew from mobile armor and decimated the Hyperion, leaving it a battered hulk.

"Now that's done…as I was saying Admiral," his doppelganger didn't even sound fazed from combat, "it be best if you and your forces retreated. Otherwise, I would be forced to use the nuclear missiles I have with me upon the populace. I'm sure that the _ReHOME_ and the _Kusanagi_ are carrying most of the civilians…"

Athrun made an angry noise in the back of his throat, knowing that his doppelganger had the upper hand. There were a few minutes of silence before the bright flares of retreat shot up from the _Archangel_ followed by the _Minerva's_ flares and a part of him despaired at the order to retreat. He would never leave Kira behind…that was the promise they made a year ago. His best friend was being taken away, just like Cagalli, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So help me if you hurt either of them, you will pay. I will find you and I will kill you," he suddenly opened a comm. to his doppelganger as he could feel Prayer carrying him away in the shell of his once-pristine Gundam.

"No need for harsh words Athrun Zala…you can find either one of them here," a sudden data upload appeared on his screens and he froze, staring at the mark location designating where Cagalli was being held. He could hear the distant laughter of his doppelganger, but his eyes were focused on the location…

It was in a remote region that was a nuclear wasteland with little to no valuable resources…and a little dot designated the spot, innocently called _Rodina_, Russian for "_The Motherland_"…

"Come, if you dare to seek and face the truth Athrun Zala and Lacus Clyne. Come and seek the power of Mendel."

* * *

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb**

If Orb reacted like this every time they lost a leader, then Kanoko wondered how the country managed to stay neutral throughout the whole war. Granted she wasn't there when Uzumi sacrificed his own life to prevent Orb's mass driver to fall into OMNI hands, but even then the country was in a state of shock. With Cagalli missing, the country was definitely in a state of shock, but also a power struggle had ensued between the two most dominant noble houses in the country, the Serans and the Sahakus.

The rest of the government functioned, but there was definitely tension in the air and the daily news broadcasts laid bare the tensions between the two dominant houses. She had been hoping that Captain Ramius and the rest of her crew would return soon to at least give some semblance of balance and quell tensions, but the news had shown the _Archangel_, _Kusanagi_, _Wyvern_ and a ZAFT warship named the _Minerva_, engaged in battle to defend Berlin from a giant Blue Cosmos offensive.

There had been no communication from Kira or Lacus ever since they left for Moscow and she had seen the reports of the city being attacked and feared for her son and his beloved's safety. Keiji tried his best to reassure her, but even she had seen him tense a bit at the footage shown on the news.

She had tried to lose herself in her work to create a cure for the virus plaguing the Naturals, but made no progress. Every time she introduced a new element the virus mutated and clung onto it, twisting it for its own purposes. The only consolation she received was that both Yzak and Dearka's blood samples showed a heavy resilience to the virus, which meant that currently; Coordinators were at no risk for person-to-person transmission or at least from dying.

However, it still didn't bode well for Naturals like herself and her husband. School had re-opened with strict precautions and face masks for everyone. Any child or worker who felt remotely sick was allowed to stay home and while some businesses suffered, others kept plowing on. The good thing that both the Seran family and Sahaku family agreed on was an impassioned speech to the people of Orb telling them not to lose hope and that they are doing everything within their power to find the cure.

Which only made Kanoko's job harder. She had recruited her staff and team members into finding a cure, but she herself kept Yzak and Dearka's samples in confidentiality, mostly not to cause a panic amongst the Coordinator population, but mostly because of one peculiar element she had seen within the infected strand that came from the two Coordinators.

There was a particular marker in both Yzak and Dearka's blood samples that she had missed the first time she was looking through, but had caught on second glance. It was a marker on the virus that she was all too familiar with and was one of her first projects she had worked on when she was still under the employ of Dr. Ulen Hibiki. She had immediately checked with the Naturals virus and found the same marker, but it was twisted, warped to the point where she nearly didn't recognize it.

How did the two Coordinators get the marker from Mendel and the Naturals' one twisted beyond its original form was beyond her at the moment, but it was at least a start. She glanced down and found that her hands had twisted themselves together and made a conscious effort to untwist them as not to show her nervousness in front of the others as they waited for the _Archangel_ and other warships following her to dock.

She had been called away from her station a few hours ago with the news that all of the ships engaged in battle over Berlin were on their way back here and she was needed to attend to a delicate medical situation. She didn't know what the situation was, but she fervently hoped Kira wasn't involved.

All of the warships looked heavily battered and damaged, no more so than the tender ship for the _Archangel_, the _ReHOME_. How the ship managed to even float let alone fly was a miracle she thought as she watched the ships dock at their respective ports. She heard the whispers from the other Council members there and even saw the representative of the Serans, Yuuna Roma Seran, look completely aghast while next to him, the only surviving representative of the Sahaku household, Rondo Mina Sahaku stared at the ship with an impassive gaze.

A few minutes later the hatch opened to the _Archangel_ and _Minerva_ and both captains of their respective ships stepped out, saluting to the Council before approaching Yuuna and Mina. Kanoko felt a slight pit of dread forming in her when the hatch opened again revealing Lacus and Athrun without Kira anywhere in sight as she walked towards the small group. Kira usually accompanied her everywhere, even if she was greeting dignitaries. He played being her bodyguard…and she knew that he wouldn't leave her alone. Even though she was glad Athrun was safe and instead missing like the news reports had said, the expression he was wearing made the pit grow deeper.

"Representative Clyne, Captain Ramius, good to see you both of you in good health," Mina greeted them calmly before turning to the ZAFT captain, a woman, to Kanoko's mild surprise. She knew ZAFT had some tendencies not to involve women and front-line commands, but this woman captain must have been really good at the Academy if she was commanding such a warship.

"Captain Talia Gladys of the Apollo Fleet. My crew and I thank Orb for taking us in and providing us with supplies and basic repairs," she saluted Mina and Yuuna crisply before extending her hand to shake theirs. "As soon as you are done with loading the supplies, we will head to Carpentaria to make full repairs."

"All in due time, Captain," Yuuna suddenly spoke up, startling all of the women gathered, "however, I would like to note why Lieutenant Commander Zala is wearing the uniform of ZAFT instead of the Liberation Forces…and why he is here without Cagalli."

"Chairman Dullindal of PLANT offered the services of his extensive database in order to find the Princess. It is a mutual alliance," the way Athrun spoke made Kanoko narrow her eyes slightly. She didn't believe a word he said and recognized the tone he used. It was the same kind of tone Keiji used a long time ago when they were still running from the people who want Kira for nefarious purposes.

"So you admit that you failed to protect Princess Cagalli and your actions may have resulted in her capture by Blue Cosmos forces. You and your vaunted Coordinator abilities are no more than a farce to further your own agenda-"

"Councilor Seran," Murrue suddenly stepped forward, interrupting Yuuna mid-rant and bringing all eyes on her. Behind her, Athrun had stared somewhere down on the ground, his face getting a bit redder and redder by the minute when Yuuna was continuing his diatribe. Even Lacus, Captain Gladys, and Mina were looking a bit stony-eyed and glaring at Yuuna.

"I would advise you leave the punishment of Lieutenant Commander Zala's actions to the proper chain of command. Meanwhile," Murrue wasn't giving Yuuna another inch to interrupt her, "may I suggest helping Captain Gladys with re-supplying the _Minerva _and attending to the wounded? We also have the matter of civilians who have evacuated Berlin with us."

"But I-"

"Yes, that would be a prudent matter. We will need to set up a quarantine for your crew also, Captain Ramius."

"I'm sorry?" Murrue was slightly taken aback by Mina's answer and even the others were surprised.

Kanoko blinked as she saw Mina suddenly gesture for her to come from the back and the rest of the Councilors parted to make room for her, making her feel suddenly very nervous as everyone stared at her. "Our head of Scientific Technologies recently told us that the virus afflicting Naturals in the Eurasian Federation has spread down to the old European countries. We have no reason to believe that any of your crew or the refugees from Berlin have been infected, but we would like to take precautions."

"I-I understand," Murrue gave her an indecipherable look before nodding to Mina's request, "I will inform the _Kusanagi_ and _ReHOME_."

"Please," Mina suddenly reached out and softened her stance, "I know that your men and women are exhausted and you need to inform the families of the _Wyvern_ of their fate, but please try and understand where we are coming from."

Murrue nodded before glancing over to her again. "I presume that Dr. Yamato cannot board the _Archangel_ without proper measures to prevent contamination? One of my pilots is in a delicate situation where her skills are needed."

The words nearly took her breath away and images of her son flashed through her mind before she shook her head minutely to quash them away. She seriously hoped it wasn't Kira who was in the delicate situation. Either way, she didn't care. If it was Kira, she would not subject herself to an extensive decontamination process just to see her son and stepped forward.

"My health is my own, Captain," she addressed Murrue formally, startling all. "Now, please, could someone escort me to the patient?"

"Dr. Yamato…you…you can't be serious?!" Yuuna spluttered and she glared at him pointedly.

"I am a doctor. If I do get infected, then it will be my own life I am dealing with," she knew Yuuna thought of Cagalli as his love interest and had heard stories from Cagalli herself about dealing with the insufferable man. But to hear him whine and not understand the situation…she wished she could punch him in the face, probably what the others around her wanted to do at times. However that would only get her into trouble with Yuuna's father, Unato, one of the most senior members of the Council and was a friend to Uzumi.

"But…but…"

"Lieutenant Commander, can you see that Dr. Yamato reaches the patient?" Murrue gave her a covert smile and Kanoko nodded in return before breezing past her and the others and followed Athrun in, shooting a worried look at Lacus. She saw her shake her head once, a sign that she would explain everything to her in private and that only amplified her worries even more.

As she followed Athrun towards the medical bay of the ship, she noticed that he looked haggard, injured, and exhausted. "Athrun…what…" She was about to continue when the expression on Athrun's face made the words die on her lips and the pit of dread that had been filling her peaked. Something was terribly wrong and Kira was somehow involved.

"He's in the medical bay, isn't he?" she whispered, horrified.

"No…" Athrun's hoarse whisper stopped her dead in her tracks and she bit back a little gasp. Kira couldn't be dead…could he? Images of her only child flashed through her mind before she glanced up at Athrun, pleading with him to tell her something, anything.

"He's not dead…at least I hope he isn't…" Athrun started quietly, staring at the ground, "he...was captured by Blue Cosmos…"

Kanoko placed a hand against the wall to steady herself from falling to the ground in shock. While a part of her was glad that Kira wasn't dead, still to have him captured by the most anti-Coordinator group in the whole Earth Sphere frightened her. "How…"

"Lacus had the Freedom hidden in the _ReHOME_…Kira must have found it…" the pained expression on the blue-haired young man's face made Kanoko reach out and touch him on the shoulder, if only to provide him with some comfort through contact.

"I'm sorry…I tried to save him. I tried-" he suddenly slammed a fist into the wall, startling her, "dammit…I tried…"

The tears falling from Athrun's face made her bite the bottom of her lip before she suddenly reached out and gathered the young man in a gentle embrace as he silently cried. "I know…I know you tried," she felt so hollow, but knew that as Kira's best friend, Athrun felt even worst. He must have been so close, yet unable to do anything…and it hurt him just as much. "We'll find him…we'll find him and we'll find Cagalli…"

Athrun nodded before she released him and smiled slightly in order to try to cheer him up. Inwardly, she was very distraught, but she knew that if she gave up hope of ever seeing her son again, then she would never find him. "We will find them…"

"I know," Athrun smiled a bit through his tears before hastily wiping them away, "that's why I joined ZAFT again…the Chairman promised that he would let me use PLANT's resources to find Cagalli, and based on the data we got in Berlin, we'll be able to find them for sure." He gave a soft bark of laughter, "You and Ledonil must be so angry with me right now. I can't even protect anyone close to me…"

"Don't say that!" Kanoko stared at him, shocked before shaking him lightly, "don't you ever say that Athrun. Don't even think of comparing yourself with your father!"

Shock and recognition filled Athrun's eyes, as he realized he had been comparing himself with the memory of his dead father. "Patrick Zala may have been manipulative and dangerous, but in no way did he fail to protect you and your happiness. Don't you dare compare yourself to him!"

"I…"

"If there is anyone that should be blamed, it is me, Ledonil, and Uzumi! Just remember, we are the ones who forced the Mendel project upon all of your lives. We're the ones who have the pay for what we sowed."

They stared at each other for a few minutes of silence before Athrun nodded, "Thank you, Auntie…"

Kanoko smiled slightly before gesturing for him to continue walking, "If it isn't Kira in the medical bay, then who is?"

"Prayer Reverie," Athrun replied quietly and Kanoko felt her eyes widen in surprise before another pit of dread formed in her. "Do you know him?"

"Reverend Malachio introduced me to him a few weeks after the war ended. He…knows my background, don't worry, he doesn't know about you, Kira, Cagalli, or Lacus in any of that capacity; he only knows about my background as one of the chief scientists in the Ultimate Coordinator project. I was asked to meet him because he was dying at the time…"

"He looked healthy to me when he was fighting, but in the middle of battle, he looked like he was in a lot of pain…"

Kanoko grimaced a bit, knowing what Prayer was going through. It was what happened to all who came from _that_ particular line…even though he was indirectly related to _him_. "Prayer is a special case…" she hesitated for a second before looking squarely into his eyes, "you must promise me that Murrue never finds out about what Prayer is…"

"What he is…?"

"Promise me."

"I promise," Athrun looked surprised but nodded before they stopped in front of the door to the room that Prayer was in.

"I managed to get a sample of Lieutenant Commander La Flaga's DNA from Erica Simmons' office after the Armistice Treaty and compared it to Prayer's DNA. It's a genetic match, right down to the last marker and code. Prayer is a clone of Mu La Flaga."

She saw the gears working in Athrun's head before his eyes narrowed in realization and suspicion. "But that means..."

"I don't know who had the ability to clone Lieutenant Commander La Flaga like that after we abandoned and destroyed most of Mendel when we escaped with Kira and Cagalli, but someone out there still has the secrets."

"Do you know if any scientists survived Mendel besides you and Ledonil?"

She shook her head, "I'm not sure...but it would explain the virus that has been attacking Naturals."

"How?"

"I was going to explain it to Lacus, Murrue, and the others, but since you asked me first," she shrugged. She still did not know how to explain what she knew to those outside of their little circle that were not involved in Mendel. "I believe this virus, even though Blue Cosmos claims that it is theirs, is genetically modified. The only people I know that genetically modify at the DNA level are-"

"-Coordinators, right," Athrun finished for her and she nodded.

"But I don't know how to prove that…"

"Wait, there's a man you should probably meet. He's currently watching over Prayer right now, but he helped us hack into a Serpent mobile suit that the ReHOME had captured in the first battle over Berlin and we found some interesting information," with that Athrun palmed the door open and Kanoko followed him in.

She saw Prayer, laying on the medical bed, covered by a thin thermal blanket, an IV line dripping nutrients into his wrist while a breather mask covered his face. His eyes were opened, but he looked like he was in pain and was murmuring something to the person sitting next to him who had a stormy look on his face. Her gaze turned to Prayer's companion and she felt a rush of shock strike her.

Those haunted purple eyes…dark hair…so like him, yet so like her at the same time. _Oh Katherine…another one of your children survived! He was such a young boy then…and they were all so cruel in the name of science. They had worked him to the ground, declaring him to be a failure and unworthy of the attention. He was supposed to be executed…and destroyed, all like the others that came before him. He was…_

"Canard…" she whispered.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I guess a little explanation is in order:

**Dendrobium Stamen/Dendrobium Orchis** – Fans of _Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory_ and _Gundam Evolve 4_ may recognize that I inserted this Gundam into the series, but I made modifications (like adding a fast moving laser) and meshed a few of Sunrise's mecha series together to make a variant on the Orchis/Stamen. The laser effect comes from watching too many episodes of _Code Geass R2_ where Lelouch's Shinkirou uses its laser weaponry to cause ultimate damage. I was trying for that type of destruction. Fans may also recognize the other "guest" mobile suit that has appeared…hint…not part of the Zodiac number of suits.

**Rondo Mina Sahaku** – Appeared in the Astray manga, she usually has her fortress up in space, but I figured since Cagalli was missing, she'd be more interested in keeping Orb as a stable country and thus came down. Her twin, Rondo Ghina died in the events of Astray. She is a Coordinator and most definitely the calmer and collected one of the twins.

**Prayer Reverie/Clone of Mu La Flaga** – In _Astray X_ there are flashbacks to which Prayer remembers piloting the same exact Moebius Zero as Mu and I kind of expanded on that since he is hinted as a failed clone and he does "die" at the end of _Astray X_ but is subsequently brought back in the next round of _Astray X_ that deals with _GSD_.

**Canard Pars** – In one of the earlier scenes in the first volume of _Astray X_, Canard remembers how he was mistreated as a failed Ultimate Coordinator when he was very young at Mendel and how he was supposed to be discarded. I figured Kanoko as one of the chief scientists under Dr. Hibiki would probably be one of the scientists observing him. It will be revealed who actually took pity on him and saved him.

Anyways, I will try to update this story on a regular monthly basis as that is part of my New Year resolution! I hope you all enjoyed it so far!


	9. Shaping the Past

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase_ _Nine – Shaping the Past_

**Rodina, Siberia**

"You _were_ supposed to be discreet."

"I felt it most opportune to break their will."

"You could have accomplished your goals without the unnecessary fireworks."

"True, but then again, would have you have anticipated that he get the nuke out of the ship in time?"

"Point taken. But I still would have liked that failure to have died. One is enough…"

"Do you want me to go back and kill them? They have barely any defenses and the populace is frightened."

"Chaos is one aspect, but that will be unnecessary."

"As ordered, sir."

"Tell me, what did you think?"

"If he was one hundred percent, then it would have been a magnificent battle."

"Which one?"

"Both."

"Ah…then you're referring to those who fight destiny, the twin angels of hope and free will."

"Yes. Given the chance, I still think we should have destroyed them."

"Yes, but where's the fun in that when you can break both?"

"True, true."

"Are you enjoying your time at the moment?"

"Yes. He is a very complex character, one of the hardest I have yet to play."

"Then good; I have another task for you and your partner-in-crime."

"As you wish…"

"Oh…after we are done with that particular task, please return to the PLANTs. I will have a special task for you to do there if everything goes as I have predicted."

"Sir, so far you have never been wrong. I shall do as you ask."

"Thank you."

* * *

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb**

"_Canard…"_

The whisper of his name startled Canard Pars from where he was having a quiet conversation with Prayer and he looked up towards the source of the voice before all of the muscles in his body seemed to freeze up and tense. It was _her_…

She had not been the cruelest of them all, but she had been present whenever the others punished him for not exceeding their expectations. She never hurled the insults and derogatory statements at him, but instead was a silent and cool observer, always jotting notes down on her datapad and clipboard. She had always stared at him with calculating eyes, not unkind eyes, but not kind either. To her, he was probably just an experiment, a hypothesis, a test. To her, he was probably a failure, unworthy of attention after he kept failing, after he kept proving that he wasn't the Ultimate Coordinator.

She looked different now, her eyes worn by the ages of time, her face with more wrinkles than he had remembered. Even her hair was different, but her lab coat, this time adorned with the patches and stitching of Orb's Scientific Technologies, made her look the every inch he remembered her in.

"How do you know Canard Pars?" Athrun Zala's voice brought him back to the present and he saw her suddenly close down on her expression before shaking her head.

"Canard Pars? I'm sorry, Athrun, he just reminded me of another person I used to know named Canard," Dr. Kamiya shrugged to which he mentally raised an eyebrow and saw that Zala was also not buying her story. If she wanted to play this game, he would go along with it, until he could find out what her true motives were. He had no doubt that she was still the manipulative scientist that she was back on Mendel all those years ago. Age just made her better at hiding certain things.

"Okay…" Athrun looked at her carefully before shrugging and gestured to him, "Auntie, this is Canard Pars, one of the Junk Guild's pilots who helped us out in Berlin. Canard, this is Dr. Kanoko Yamato."

Canard forced himself not to start at her last name. Yamato…which was the same as Kira's last name. This was the woman to whom Kira called a mother?! _Impossible…_ Even if she had changed her name, to him, she was still Dr. Caridad Kamiya, one of the chief scientists of Mendel. "Good to meet you," he nodded a greeting to which she inclined her head before turning to look at Prayer who had half a smile on his face.

"Prayer…you over did it didn't you?" her voice was soft and gentle, a complete contrast from what he remembered and he narrowed his eyes, wondering how did she know Prayer was a clone. He knew some of the details that Prayer had entrusted to him during the trip from Berlin to Orb, but he knew that he hadn't gotten the full story.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Yamato…I know I wasn't supposed to, but…" Prayer winced slightly and Canard realized that he was trying to get up and immediately placed a hand over his chest, pushing him back onto the bed.

"You're still too weak…" he gave him a pointed look.

"Ah…sorry Canard," Prayer stopped struggling and gave him a faint smile.

"How many did you take this time?" she asked, bringing out a small datapad from the folds of her lab coat.

"Three. I know last time I nearly overdosed on four, so I tried three, but I think the strain was too much for it," Prayer replied quietly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Prayer…I hope you didn't mind that I told Athrun about your condition," she asked and Canard felt his hackles rise. Who gave her the right to talk about Prayer being a clone to someone from the outside, especially someone like Zala. Granted he was Kira's best friend, but he was also the son of the late Patrick Zala and Canard didn't know where his real loyalties stood. He could have been making up all of that crap earlier regarding him being blackmailed into joining ZAFT's FAITH unit for all he knew…

He had given the copy of files they found on the Serpent unit to Zala, but what the man didn't know was he also kept a copy of the files just in case Zala was going to use it for nefarious purposes.

"It's because of Rau Le Creuset, isn't it?" Prayer glanced over to Zala and he nodded. "Then I don't mind, especially also since Reverend Malachio trusts you."

"What about Rau Le Creuset?" Canard was confused. Why mention the psychopathic commander of the ZAFT forces who held Patrick Zala's ear for all this time? He knew Zala had served under Le Creuset as part of his elite team before he defected and went AWOL from ZAFT during the war four years ago.

"During the latter half of the war, we discovered that Rau Le Creuset was a clone of a man named Al La Flaga, Mu La Flaga's father. Being cloned wasn't perfect and had its imperfections. Le Creuset had to taken pills to keep the pain and tremors that his fragmented DNA stable. It was something I discovered during my time with his unit, but I didn't realize the implications until the whole story was revealed to me," Zala said before glancing at Prayer, "you probably have to do the same, right?"

"Yes…and if I take too much of the pills, my body starts to reject its effect and it turns toxic. But if I end up straining myself…well," Prayer gave a small chuckle and Canard frowned. This was definitely no joking matter, but who in the world would even attempt to clone another person? Cloning was illegal in the Earth Sphere and even no doctor, not even the ones that had pushed him in the Eurasian Federation, would touch cloning with a ten foot pole.

The answer stared at him in the face and he mentally kicked himself for not figuring it out sooner. During the later stages of the Bloody Valentine War, before the Battle of Jachin Due, he had read reports that the Clyne Faction had taken up refuge in the remnants of Mendel and a three-way battle between OMNI, ZAFT, and Clyne Faction had broken out with it ending in a stalemate. This was where they probably learned Le Creuset was a clone…after all, who better than to try a new radical experiment than Dr. Ulen Hibiki?

"All right, I'll start you on the low dosage IV line for a few hours and you'll tell me how you feel afterwards, all right? We'll up the dosage if you still feel bad. I'll also need a sample of your blood just in case there are irregularities within your DNA that may have come up when you strained yourself."

"Doctor?"

"Yes Prayer?"

"I'm sorry…about Kira…"

"It's…not your fault…its no one's fault," her voice cracked slightly and Canard's gaze shot up to her. She looked genuinely sad and a part of him felt a bit guilty for treating her so hostilely even though it was mostly silent. She, after all, was Kira's caretaker and mother and when mothers lost their children, it was as if their whole world had dropped out from underneath them. If he had only been smarter, if he had only realized that the Dendrobium Orchis was armed with the same Armure Lumiere as his Hyperion Shiki did. If he hadn't been so hasty, so filled with rage at seeing Kira being taken away while they couldn't do anything, then maybe, maybe he would have made a difference.

"Canard?" her voice made him look up again and he saw what looked like the suspicious shine of unshed tears in her eyes. "Can you please bring Prayer to my lab in about half an hour? Lacus can direct you there as I need to talk to her too."

"S-Sure…" he replied hastily, unsure as to her abrupt request before she reached down and touched Prayer briefly on the cheek.

"Don't worry, you'll be back to normal in no time," she said soothingly before turning around and heading out, Athrun following her, looking a bit bewildered.

Canard watched the door close, knowing that in half an hour, he would get the answers his questions and the ultimate question for him, why she the only survivor of Mendel when all others had been slaughtered?

* * *

Athrun followed Kanoko off of the ship, noticing the way she glared pointedly at Yuuna Seran, as if daring him to quarantine her like the other Naturals aboard the _Archangel_, _Kusanagi,_ and _ReHOME_.

"Lacus, a young man by the name of Canard Pars will be escorting my patient off of the _Archangel_ in about half an hour. If you can show him the way to my lab, it would be much appreciated," she faced her before bowing slightly to the others, "please excuse me."

Athrun threw a hasty salute to Captain Gladys and Ramius before quickly following Kanoko, sensing that she wanted to talk. There was also the question of asking her if she knew about Rodina and what else about her hypothesis that this plague was created by Coordinators even though it was claimed by Blue Cosmos. Behind him he could hear the spluttering comments that Seran was making at his hasty departure and inwardly smiled. The less he had to see of that man, the better for the both of them.

He knew that a majority of the marriage proposals that had been hounding Cagalli for the past year were from Seran and the man knew that it must have irritated him to no end. He had even caught him trying to accost Cagalli more than once and one of the times, literally punched him in the face before telling Cagalli's estate guards to throw him out. That particular scenario had not ended quite as well as he had thought it would. It seemed that in the aftermath, Unato Seran had made it his personal mission to try to discredit him or at least get him away from Cagalli.

"Seran should shove it…trying to imply that I carry the stupid virus?" he heard Kanoko mutter mostly to herself and tried to suppress the small bark of laughter, but was a bit unsuccessful.

"Oh, I'm sorry Athrun, I shouldn't even be making comments like that right now," she shook her head and he nodded.

"I perfectly understand, Auntie. At least Rondo Mina is keeping him in line," he knew it was very rare to see the head of the Sahaku household on Earth and in Orb, but in the past year since the Talon Incident, the sharp-eyed woman had at least made an effort to make sure her house was represented in the Council meetings.

"I hope we find Cagalli and Kira before anything else happens," she murmured.

"That reminds me," he said as they worked their way through the corridors and into her lab, "do you know a place called Rodina?"

She stopped so abruptly that Athrun nearly ran into her before stopping himself. "Where did you hear that name?"

"The pilot of the Dendrobium gave us the coordinates to a place called Rodina in Siberia. I had figured that you or your husband would want to know where Kira and possibly Cagalli were taken."

He watched as she sat down heavily, staring at her computer screen for a while before turning to face him. She looked so old, he noticed, so old and so exhausted. "It's been a long time since anyone has mentioned Rodina," she sighed, "before my posting at Mendel and my work with Dr. Hibiki, I was at Rodina. I left due to conflicts of interest and because of differing issues."

Athrun suspected that there was more than what she was saying and wondered if anything else could be more than the bombshell she had dropped upon him and Lacus regarding their genetic histories a year ago. "There's more, isn't there?"

Kanoko nodded before composing herself, "Its best if you waited until Lacus arrived. She would want to hear this and I fear that I'm only able to tell the story once."

"Does it have to do with Kira and his status as the Ultimate Coordinator?"

She looked at him with steady eyes, "It's the beginning of everything."

* * *

Canard pushed Prayer's wheelchair with a steady hand, keeping pace with Lacus Clyne as they made their way to the Scientific Technologies building and to Dr. Yamato's lab. Their walk was mostly filled with silence, which allowed him to reflect upon his thoughts and provided some insight into the woman that was Lacus Clyne.

When he had first seen Kira, after his little jaunt through the sewers of Moscow, he immediately picked up on his possessive body language towards Lacus and inwardly had smiled at the way the two supported each other. She was a good and strong woman and though he noticed that they took great pains to hide their relationship, he had caught them looking at each other whenever they thought no one was around to watch.

He had also seen how she cared for Kira, especially after he had collapsed. He still didn't know how Kira figured out that Princess Cagalli was captured, but he decided to let it slide. Some things just worked in mysterious ways. If he had to play the big brother to Kira, he would have given them his approval.

He started slightly as he realized where his thoughts had headed. Since when did he considered himself a brother to Kira? As far as he knew, he had studiously avoided running into him, which was one of the reasons why he joined the Junk Guild. He wanted to watch from afar, not get caught up in his life. He realized that it was just as quickly that he had warmed to the idea of actually being family to Kira. That idea had blossomed to the point where his rage had taken over him during the battle for Berlin when Kira was about to be captured by the Dendrobium.

Shaking his head ruefully, he gave a quiet snort of exasperation with himself.

"Something the matter Canard?" Lacus' curious voice made him glance over to her and he shook her head.

"Nothing, just thinking," he glanced at her before quickly changing the subject, "where is your Haro? That thing seems to be following you everywhere." It was true. During their trip from Moscow to Berlin, he had nearly gone spare from the annoying electronic pet and contemplated smashing it, but didn't get the opportunity to do so.

"I left it with Kaza-chan," Lacus smiled and Canard nearly tripped from shock. Leaving the Haro with Kazahana was like leaving a ticking time bomb with the girl. Anything could happen and most of them bad.

A soft chuckle of laughter from Prayer made him look down to see his dear friend trying to muffle it, even though he looked so pained. He suddenly dissolved into coughs to which Canard stopped pushing and knelt down next to him, squeezing his arm in concern. "I'm all right…" Prayer wheezed out, "I know I shouldn't have laughed, but…it was quite amusing, Lacus-san."

"I'm sorry," she apologized before he resumed pushing him through the double doors and into the lab.

The first thing he noticed was Zala sitting in a corner couch, looking a bit out of sorts. He barely looked up at them before Lacus touched his shoulder and hurried over to him. It was also then that Dr. Yamato came out of an adjoining room and waved him over. He still didn't trust her fully, but she did have the knowledge to help Prayer so he would extend some measure of trust.

"Please place him on the bed. I'll start the IV line and give you a light sedative so you can sleep it off, all right Prayer?"

"Sure," his dear friend replied.

Canard parked the wheelchair before gently picking up his friend and carried him over to the bed, making sure he covered him with a blanket in case he got cold. He acknowledged the smile of thankfulness that Prayer gave him with the barest of nods before stepping back to allow Dr. Yamato to do whatever she needed to do.

He watched as she hooked his wrist up to the IV line before injecting a needle into the upper part of his arm. Prayer's eyes slowly closed and his breathing evened out. He looked at peace and Canard allowed himself to relax just a bit.

"He must be so special to you, isn't he, Canard?" she suddenly spoke up next to him, making him tense again.

Turning slightly he gave her the barest of nods, "God help the person who would want to harm him."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way," she apologized and he realized that he had directed his words towards her. He watched as she sat down next to Prayer, glancing out to her office where Athrun and Lacus sat, talking quietly with each other. "All of you are so young and to have such cruel destinies…" She shook her head before staring at him and Canard stepped back at the analytical gaze she had. He suppressed a shudder running through his body as he recognized that all too familiar look. It was the same one she used to give him when he was back on Mendel. The same one some of the scientists who trained him in the Eurasian Federation wore.

"You call yourself Canard Pars now, don't you?"

"My name was given to me by my guardians in the Eurasian Federation."

"You were with OMNI?" she looked surprised.

"I was abandoned there," he replied.

"Oh…" she fell silent for a few seconds and he narrowed his eyes.

"And you, you changed your name, didn't you Dr. Caridad Kamiya," he sneered, feeling a rush of anger fill him.

"So you _are_ Experiment 086-EEX, code named Canard," her gaze was simple and he blinked in shock. He had let her manipulate him into revealing who he really was in such easy fashion.

"Shut up," he growled out, clenching a fist in anger and shame. He couldn't believe that he had fallen for her tricks again. "You have no right-"

"You're right, I have no right to goad you like that, I apologize," she interrupted him and he stared at her, surprised. "I'm just…happy to see that you're alive. That your mother had thought you had died…and yet you survived."

"Even she called me a failure," he barely remembered any images of Katherine Hibiki, but what he did remember was her sorrowful face and a really angry face that he knew he hadn't meant to see. He remembered her screaming at someone, but couldn't remember the conversation. Her face was what scared him the most at the time…

"You were not a failure," Dr. Yamato suddenly looked a bit angry, "to me you weren't."

"Compared to Kira, I am," he shot back.

"You…you know about Kira?" her face paled and he narrowed his eyes slightly before nodding.

"That he's my brother? Yes. I was told every time I failed at something that I wouldn't be able to beat the Ultimate Coordinator. I found out who he was through my channels and connections in OMNI. Compared to him, I am the failed Ultimate Coordinator. I am not even good enough to defeat him."

"Live…your own life," a sleep murmur came from the bedside and the two of them stared down at Prayer who had sleepily opened his eyes, yawning slightly before turning to his side and falling back asleep.

"Prayer…I take it he knows?"

"Some of it," Canard shrugged, "he was the one who saved me. Brought me back from the brink of my own self destruction."

"I see."

"Why did you change your name? Couldn't bear to live with the shame of your hands stained with the blood of innocent children?" he asked before he realized his words had hurt her deeply. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she shook her head.

"Don't," she held up a hand to stop him, "don't apologize. You should never apologize to someone like me. Katherine wanted to leave after Kira was born so we made arrangements. She died in the attempt, and we left to run. I headed to Copernicus City where I met my husband…and got married. He knows about Kira and up until the war reached Heliopolis, we succeeded in keeping Kira safe and sound."

He suspected that she wasn't telling him the whole truth and something in her story didn't make sense. "You said 'we', who's we?"

She looked at him with a steady gaze for a few seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity before nodding mostly to herself. "Only a select few people know of this, Athrun and Lacus being two. What I am about to say could end up destabilizing peace for all we know and destroy the lives of four very important people, Kira being one of them. Do you harbor any grudges against my son?"

"I used to," Canard admitted before glancing down at Prayer, "he helped me get over it."

"Live your own life, I take it?" she smiled gently at him before her expression grew serious again. Glancing towards the two others that sat in her office, she looked back at him and took a deep breath. "Uzumi Nara Attha and Ledonil Kisaka were the scientists who escaped with me. You would not recognize him from your memories because both was assigned to a different group and department at the time, but transferred over shortly after you were taken away.

"When we escaped, it wasn't just for Kira; it was also for another child that Katherine had gave birth to naturally. She originally wanted to escape with that child, but once Kira was born, she knew she couldn't leave her son behind. Since I took Kira, you can probably guess who Uzumi took…"

Canard stared at Dr. Yamato in shock, part of his mind unable to comprehend her words, the other part just screaming its mental head off. Was she saying that the Princess of Orb, the firebrand Princess who everyone had started to call the Lioness of Orb, was Kira's sister…his own sister?! It couldn't be true…could it?

"Twins," Dr. Yamato murmured and Canard felt a bit lightheaded.

"Twins?" he managed to get out before snapping his mouth shut at the implications. But…as far as he knew Princess Cagalli was a Natural…Kira was a Coordinator. _That…isn't…_ It _was_ possible the rational part of his brain supplemented. It was true and it was possible because of the sick person Dr. Ulen Hibiki was. It would be just like him to treat his wife like that, to have one child as a Natural and one as a Coordinator, the Ultimate Coordinator.

"You can see why something like this would destroy their lives," she glanced out to her office where Athrun and Lacus still sat, however, the two of them were staring at him in slight curiosity; well curiosity for Lacus, suspicion on the part of Zala.

His mind slammed itself back to the topic at hand. He had a sister?! It explained why Kira was able to know how the Princess was captured and why he collapsed just before they had shaken hands. He must have felt something through the unique bond that bounded all twins together, whether they were fraternal or identical.

"I…I see," he found that his mouth was dry and tried to swallow some moisture in it.

"Canard…" the gentleness of her voice made him look up to see her staring at him in concern.

This woman…he couldn't think of her as Dr. Yamato anymore…this woman, Kanoko, how did she do it? How did she have the strength of millions to keep such a secret and still live? Was he such a lesser man to know that he would have succumbed to his fate or even killed himself if he carried such a knowledge and the atrocities committed?

"Canard…I have told you my secrets…will you let me tell yours," she asked quietly.

"To who?"

"To Athrun and Lacus," she replied.

"Why?"

"Because I recognize Rodina, the place where Blue Cosmos supposedly have taken Kira and Cagalli. I want you to hear it too since you may have experience, but they won't understand why you are here. Lacus may trust you without any explanation, but Athrun, the poor boy has lost so much and seen his world fall apart in the matter of days…"

"You're afraid that he'll snap somewhere along the line," he glanced over at Zala who was still staring at him with suspicion before glancing back at Kanoko. "There's something else you're not telling me, is there? Something to do with Zala, right?" he probed her.

"There is," she nodded without hesitation, "but I do not have permission to tell you."

He stared at her for a few minutes, the silence between them punctuated by Prayer's soft and steady breathing. Finally, he nodded. If it would help save his brother and his newfound sister, then he would do it. "Tell them the bare minimum…and swear it from them that Kira and the Prin-and Cagalli, never find out about me."

"I understand. Thank you Canard, you're more like your mother than you know," she smiled at him, a sad, sorrowful smile before getting up and heading out to her office. Canard watched her approach both Athrun and Lacus before glancing down at Prayer's peaceful form.

"Sleep well, friend," he whispered before getting up and following her out into the office. He had a feeling that this was only the calm before a very large and dangerous storm.

* * *

**Rodina, Siberia**

Cagalli Yula Attha was furious. She paced around the bed like a caged animal, her hands clenching and unclenching with her pent up anger. How dare they…how dare they… She took once glance at the occupant on the bed before turning back around and resumed her pacing. She wanted to scream her frustration out, but even then she knew that it would be detrimental to the person resting on the bed, and she didn't want to hurt him further.

She supposed that the only consolation was that they allowed her to see him to be with him, to care for him as best as she could. It was hell of a lot better than to listen to that stupid man's impassioned pleas for her to join up with him; for her to "face her destiny" as he had so eloquently put it. _Bullshit_, she inwardly swore.

There was no way in hell she would ever join up with _him_, even if she died for it. He was the image of everything that was fundamentally wrong with the world. He wanted to watch it burn, not like the psycho Rau Le Creuset, but like what the one who gave her the gift of life wanted to do. She would never call Ulen Hibiki her father, only the one who gave part of himself to give her life. In her eyes, Hibiki was nothing more than a bastard who wanted to play God. Uzumi Nara Attha would always be her father, no more, no less.

A soft groan from the bed nearly startled her and she quickly hurried over to the occupant's side, grasping his hand in hers as he groaned again and shifted slightly before a wince of pain appeared on his face. "Kira?" she whispered quietly, squeezing his hand briefly.

When she had first woken up she had thought she was on PLANT, seeing that man's face before her, until his words had shattered that illusion and she had realized she was now a prisoner of Blue Cosmos. He had also introduced her to the person who had surprised her in Copernicus City and had subsequently captured her and she was floored by his resemblance to her beloved Athrun. If she didn't know any better and if he wasn't wearing such an ugly smirk, she would have thought that the man named Triton Lynd was Athrun.

She had thought she'd seen a familiar face, but instead had woken up to a nightmare. Now she was determined to spare her brother the same fate.

"Kira?" she ventured again as he slowly opened his eyes and she bit back a gasp at the deep well of pain in them before he slowly turned his head towards her and she smiled in relief. "Kira!"

"C-Cagalli?" his throat was hoarse and she quickly let go of his hand before offering a cup of water with a straw to him. He took the offering and drank greedily before finally resting his head back on the pillow, grimacing in pain. "You're all right…you're safe…"

"Silly," she admonished him gently, grasping his hand again, "of course I'm all right. You…however, you don't look so good…what happened?"

"Freedom," he drew in a shallow breath, "I found Freedom…"

Cagalli shook her head, closing her eyes briefly, "Oh no…you didn't, did you Kira?"

"I…had no choice," her brother replied quietly and she sighed.

"You always have a choice, Kira," there were times that she didn't know what to do with her twin brother. It didn't help that sometimes, she knew that he was as stubborn as she is…and that was probably how twins operated. She laughed lightly, knowing that it was tinged with a hint of bitterness. "But you can never turn away from those who need help, can you?"

"Cagalli?"

"Oh Kira," she could feel the tears forming in the corner of her eyes, "why did you come? Why did you get captured?"

"Wha…"

"We're prisoners of Blue Cosmos…" she felt a tear slide down her face before she squeezed his hand, "they know who I am…and it's a good guess they know who you are…"

"Of course we know who he is," a new voice spoke up from the door to the room that they were in and she looked up and froze.

"You…"

"He is the Ultimate Coordinator, the perfect being," she had originally thought him as perhaps a decent person. A political ally so to speak, after all, his actions at Copernicus City warranted at least a chance of perhaps knowing a future ally. But in hindsight, she knew that it had all been a sham. He had orchestrated the attacks on civilians and had done so with the intent of driving everyone into the right spot for him to be successful. He was a masterful chess player, predicting the right moves and what everyone would do. It was just because they were too foolish enough to believe that peace existed after quelling the fire that was the Talon.

They had been duped by the brilliant chess master.

"Chairman Dullindal," she growled out.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Canard seemed to take over this chapter. Heh. I think what will end up is both Canard and Prayer will make the transition from secondary characters who were supposed to have just cameo appearances to full-time characters; if not for their storied histories, but also for the fact that they've become semi-important to the overall plot. Lowe and the others will probably take a back burner and don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Phantom Pain and the four who stole the mobile suits. They will probably be featured in the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed my most recent offering and please, don't forget to leave reviews! I thrive on reviews!


	10. Present Influences

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Ten – Present Influences_

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb**

Athrun was not happy. In fact, furious would be more like it as he glared at the man named Canard Pars. He would have held the man at gunpoint and demanded that he swear never to tell of the secrets that had been spilled today, if not for Kanoko's words that had shocked the fury out of him. It left him staring at Canard like a fish out of water.

Canard was _what_ to Kira and Cagalli?! Older brother?! That was impossible a part of him screamed while the other, rational part that had processed all of the information regarding the storied history of Mendel, said that there were many trials of the Ultimate Coordinator before Kira was the final result, why not have a survivor from those earlier tests.

But that still did not make him any less happy at Canard, or at Kanoko for telling the man that Kira and Cagalli were related. However, it did clear up some of the suspicion that he had been having since he met the man on the _ReHOME_. He had seen the hidden looks of anger whenever Mendel was mentioned and surmised that Canard did not have pleasant memories of that place, and it explained his somewhat, conciliatory attitude towards Kira when they were working together on the Serpent unit.

Meanwhile, Lacus had taken the news in stride and while she looked initially shocked by it, she had quickly composed herself before impulsively embracing Canard much to his embarrassment. Kanoko had then told them never to tell Kira or Cagalli about their relationship to Canard and the two of them had agreed. It was bad enough that Kira could barely cope with the news about Mendel, even after they had blown it up a year ago, but anymore could send him over the edge.

He knew Cagalli could handle the facts, but Athrun also wanted to protect her from her own self-destructive tendencies. She didn't look like she was affected by Mendel as much as Kira, but he knew that there were times where she would just sit and cry, most of them staring at the picture of their mother, holding the two twin babies.

Cagalli and Kira were strong in their on right, probably stronger than he was, but even they had their breaking points. In Kira's case, it was his selfless acts and Cagalli's case, her bull-headedness towards anything that got in her way. For the two of them to be captured and in Blue Cosmos' hands, it was all because he wasn't strong enough. How could he have been so foolish?! He was determined never to make the same mistake again.

"How good are Rodina's defenses?" he asked Kanoko, startling her as he gave her an even look.

"Athrun, you're not thinking of…"

"If that's where the source of all of Blue Cosmos' attacks are coming from, then we should storm it," he looked at Kanoko, Canard, and Lacus, daring any of them to contradict what he said.

"It could be a trap," Canard narrowed his eyes as he stared at him, "that bastard could have just sent you coordinates to some abandoned nuclear wasteland just to set the Liberation Forces on a wild goose chase."

'I'm more disturbed by the possibility of who you described as your doppelganger," Kanoko murmured quietly and he looked at her.

"Do you think…?" he left the unspoken question to her and she shook her head.

"I don't really know, but," she tilted her head to the side as a thought occurred to her, "did you get any headaches whenever he was near you?"

"No…" Athrun was puzzled.

"Then he isn't like Griever," Kanoko nodded mostly to herself before glancing up at them, "Kira confided in me that whenever Griever was near him, he would get splitting headaches. I don't know if it was true for Commander La Flaga's case whenever Rau Le Creuset was around, especially since Rau was a clone of La Flaga's father, but if you're not getting headaches, I think it's safe to rule out the possibility of this doppelganger being a clone of you, Athrun."

"Who's Griever?" Canard looked confused.

Athrun gave him a pointed look before sighing, "One of the scientists from the original project survived, Sven Anderson, and somehow ended up creating a clone of Kira. I killed that clone before we blew up Mendel."

"If one scientist survived, Auntie, could there be more?" Lacus asked.

"I don't know," Kanoko replied, "when the three of us escaped, we didn't dare look back. There is the possibility of survivors like Sven Anderson, but I don't know if Ledonil or Uzumi ever searched for them. I'll ask Ledonil, he may know more, but I didn't want anything to do with Mendel after I took Kira in."

"Why do you ask?" Canard looked at Lacus who pursed her lips for a second before replying.

"It's something Athrun thought up of, but the three of you discovered genetic plans within the Serpent mobile suit's OS core before it self-destructed, right? Why would a mobile suit based on ancient designs have such data within?"

"Besides that, how did Blue Cosmos end up with plans for a Serpent unit or even the Dendrobium Orchis?" the dark-haired man looked troubled.

"The what?" it was the first time he had heard of their names.

"Dendrobium Orchis," Canard gestured with his hand, "the big white mobile armor."

"The Orchis?" Lacus looked shocked, "but those plans were supposed to be destroyed…"

"You know about it?"

"Wait, wait," Athrun held up his hands, "what are you two talking about?"

"When I was with OMNI, I had access to some of the history books that were supposedly destroyed a long time ago. The Eurasian Federation was a bit picky about preserving history of the world, claiming that it was for the pure world and to prove that Coordinators weren't so superior. I saw the books describe what is the Dendrobium Stamen, a Gundam that controlled the mobile armor known as the Orchis."

"A Gundam?! How long ago was this?"

"There was no date, but consider the fact that the book I was reading was in an abandoned library a few hundred feet underground in the city of Brussels. It's also where I read about the Serpent mobile suits."

"You're saying that someone deliberately buried parts of history and that mobile suits and Gundams existed and that this wasn't man's first trip to the stars?" Kanoko looked completely shocked.

Canard shrugged, "I don't know, but what I would really like to know is how Miss Lacus says that those plans were supposed to be destroyed."

Athrun stared at Lacus who turned a slight tinge of pink from all of the attention. His mind was reeling with the possibilities and the knowledge, even though it was all pure speculation.

"My father, before the Freedom and Justice were created, advocated against the building of the Orchis. It seemed that some FAITH members who were stationed on Earth had discovered plans that spoke of a great and powerful mobile armor that could be used to turn the tide in the Bloody Valentine War. My father eventually conceded when it was suggested that they adapt the less violent aspects of the Orchis to build Freedom and Justice's METEOR systems."

"It was still destructive," Athrun muttered. While a part of him was glad that the METEOR systems were all but destroyed in the war, he knew that there were times where he wished he had that kind of firepower at his command. It would be so much easier to command peace from the others, but it was most definitely at the expense of everyone else's fear. The Liberation Forces did not need to enforce their presence with fear. They were supposed to be the hope for the world; the hope that both Coordinators and Naturals could work together.

"I know," Lacus replied, "it would seem that those plans were perhaps stolen by someone and sold to Blue Cosmos."

"So then you also think someone in PLANT could have come up with the virus that's been plaguing Naturals and also sold it to Blue Cosmos?" Canard asked.

"It would seem so given the complex OS that we had to crack," Athrun nodded, "but why would any Coordinator side with the enemy that's trying to kill them?"

"It doesn't have to be a Coordinator," Kanoko interrupted them, "like Lacus said; it could be a scientist who escaped from Mendel."

"Dr. Yamato?"

"I've been doing some analysis and blood work-ups of a few Naturals who've been sick and there's a marker within the mitochondrial strand and on the cellular level of the infected cells that I recognized. It's a bit complex to explain, but the gist of it is that I haven't seen that strand since when I first transferred to Mendel from Rodina," she looked pensive and tapped her chin with a finger.

"Then should we go back to Mendel to find the files? I know they were all flash-destroyed before we blew up the colony," Athrun was confused.

"No…Rodina would be your best bet," Kanoko shook her head, "but it's also a place where you would want to avoid."

"Why?" Lacus touched her hand gently.

She looked up at them, unshed tears shining in her eyes, "It's a place of death and a place of destruction. If it is truly the origin of the virus then it's my fault."

"Auntie?" Athrun felt a swoop of uneasiness fill him.

"I created the original virus…not to be used on Naturals, but to kill Coordinators. I was part of Blue Cosmos…" she whispered solemnly.

Athrun could only stare at her in shock.

* * *

**Rodina, Siberia**

"_Chairman Dullindal," Cagalli hissed in anger._

Kira craned his head as much as his protesting body allowed him to and saw indeed, a man who looked eerily like the newly elected Chairman of the PLANTs. Granted he only saw Gilbert Dullindal on the news feeds and never met him in person, but he had no reason to doubt his sister's words, especially since she met him in person during the Armistice Anniversary ceremony on Copernicus City.

"Tsk, tsk, must I remind you, Princess; I am Alexei Terazuma, not Gilbert Dullindal. I am not my clone," the man shook his head as if reprimanding a young child.

"This time," Cagalli shot back, "who knows how many times you and your clone switched places. Last time, it was a man who called himself Dullindal. As far as I am concerned, you're both him, and both evil bastards."

"Such language," he tsked once more before snapping his fingers and a girl, probably just a year or two older than them stepped forward. She had long straight brown hair and severe looking eyes. "Shiho, our Princess isn't being very cordial. Please take her back to her room."

"Wait! You said you would allow me to stay!" Cagalli suddenly grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly and Kira felt a rush of panic fill him. "Wait!"

He tried to keep his grip on her own hand, but the girl reached over and pulled ripped their hands apart with an iron grip before dragging Cagalli off.

"Cagalli!" he called out before wincing in pain as he saw a flash of his sister's blonde hair before she disappeared from his view. He could hear her protests until the door slid shut behind the man named Alexei Terazuma. Glaring at the man, he managed to prop himself up, even though his chest felt like it was on fire. "If you harm her…"

"Kira Yamato, I don't think you're in any position to make threats," Terazuma stared down at him, before making a gesture to someone behind him and he saw a doctor approach. He shrank back slightly, wondering what the doctor was going to do with him. "Dr. Oligav is only checking your vitals, Kira. We need you strong and healthy after all."

"What for?" he asked as he saw that indeed, the doctor named Oligav was checking the monitors and his vital signs.

"Well, we would like you to become our new champion."

"Like hell I'm going to help you kill Naturals and Coordinators," he shot back before wincing as the doctor touched a sensitive spot on his side.

"No, no, you misunderstand me, Kira," Terazuma opened his hands, "you'll be our new champion whether or not you want to. It's only a matter of if you are willing after a fashion or if you will end up resisting to the point where we will have to use some more meaningful persuasion."

A retort had been forming in Kira's mouth when he abruptly clamped it shut at the man's words just as Oligav was done with his examination. He knew exactly what Terazuma was talking about. It was probably the reason that they had captured Cagalli, but did they know of their connection to each other? He hoped not. But how did they know he was the pilot of the Freedom? Or was the mobile armor's orders to capture the Freedom and they discovered that he was a Coordinator when they had put him in the medical room?

"She is the Princess of Orb. If you harm her, your political hostage and clout may not be of use to you when you make your demands to Orb," he muttered.

"She is your sister, your twin sister, I might add," Terazuma smiled cruelly down at him as he was unable to keep the shock off of his face.

"H-How could she be my twin, much less even related to me?" he quickly stammered, "she's a Natural, and I'm a Coordinator!"

"Don't deny it, Kira," Terazuma smiled, "I know your history. I know you are the Ultimate Coordinator and I know your parents aren't your real parents. I know that your real mother and father were the Hibikis, the progenitors of cloning and of the Ultimate Coordinator Project at Mendel Colony. I know every little detail of your life, for example: how you've fallen in love with Lacus Clyne, how you and your best friend Athrun Zala fought each other to the brink of death, how you found out about you and your sister's origins on Mendel, and how you killed your greatest adversary, Rau Le Creuset. Oh, I know all of this…and perhaps more than you know."

For the first time, instead of despair, bitterness, anger, and the feeling of self-pity, Kira felt something completely foreign and alien. He felt the first real hints of fear as he stared at Terazuma. Just who was this man? How did he come by such information and how did he know so much?

"How…who…"

"I am Alexei Terazuma and Gilbert Dullindal, Kira; we are the perfection of Dr. Ulen Hibiki's cloning technology. And we are agents of fear. You, Kira Yamato will be our instrument."

* * *

Cagalli struggled against the vise-like grip her captor had on her wrist as she was dragged back to her room, which also doubled as a cell in the compound. "Let me go!" she yelled, trying to dig her heels into the metal floors, but all they did was slide along.

"If you keep struggling, I will have to knock you out, Princess," Shiho replied in a cold and almost detached tone. "I know you don't like that."

"I wanted to stay with him! You promised that I could!"

"I only promised whatever time I could allow you," she replied back, "it is your fault that he did not wake up sooner."

"Shiho, let me go!" she tried to swing her way out, but to no avail. She was about to open her mouth when a freezing cold voice spoke up behind them.

"If you are having trouble keeping your charge quiet, I may be able to help," the voice was simplistic, almost child-like and soft, but her tone was as icy as the frozen wasteland that covered the surrounding area of the compound.

The two of them stopped and turned to stare at a petite young girl, definitely at least younger than Cagalli appearance-wise, but her icy dark purple eyes glittered with both child-like innocence and malevolent hate. Cagalli didn't know the reason why the girl named Stellar Loussier was so hostile towards her in recent days, ever since she had discovered that her brother had been captured a long with some other ZAFT pilot, but she had tried to avoid the creepy girl at all times.

"I can keep an eye on my own charge, thank you, Stellar," Shiho stated with finality, before tugging on her arm to emphasize her point. "As far as I am concerned, you should be overseeing Gaia's retro-fitting, are you not? Why are you here?"

"Stellar is concerned," her demeanor and voice suddenly changed to a bubbly one before glaring at Cagalli, "_he_ has been having nightmares because of her…" She suddenly took a step forward, arms hooked to her sides before Cagalli's vision was impeded by Shiho stepping in front of her protectively, still keeping a vise-like grip on her wrist. "If I had my way, she would be disposed of right now."

"Stellar," Shiho's voice dropped slightly in a warning tone, "would you like to _die_ right now?"

"D-Die…?" a sudden rustle of cloth made Cagalli peek out from under Shiho's arm to see Stellar on her knees on the ground, her arms wrapped around her, trying not to shake. She felt a flash of sympathy for the girl who was huddled on the ground, staring at nothing. During her captivity she was privy to a lot of information, mostly from her guard, Shiho, but some of it from the random encounters with the pilots who had stolen the four Gundams from Armory One.

She didn't dare tell Terazuma or Dullindal about her knowledge, but instead, knew that when she made her escape or when she was rescued, the information would be very handy to the Liberation Forces. In Stellar Loussier's case, she was a Natural who was subjected to heavy drug use to bring her abilities on par with a Coordinator's and it was one of the reasons why Phantom Pain was able to steal those suits from Armory One. However, she had discovered that each of the Extendeds, as they were called, had programmable trigger words that either reduced them to helpless and scared children or made them into Bezerker.

She had speculated that the Bezerker mode was Blue Cosmos' attempt to provide similar conditions to Kira, Athrun, and her seed-mode. She didn't know how they knew about seed-mode, but she had stumbled across files her father left behind for her describing a rare research regarding rare Coordinators and at least one Natural who had gone into an almost Bezerker like fugue-state during battle. The only time that it happened was during George Glenn's time.

"Let's go," Shiho abruptly turned around and dragged her along.

"Wait! Hey!" she protested before her feet caught up with her and she walked along. She gave a pointed glare to her guard, "You didn't need to leave her like that, you know."

"You _do_ have a death wish Princess. I hope that I am there to see it when she breaks your neck," Shiho retorted before stopping in front of her door and keyed in the code so fast that she didn't catch it. The door slid open before she was unceremoniously thrown in.

Cagalli stumbled a few steps before catching herself and gritted her teeth as she stared at the severe-eyed girl. "I hope you rot in hell."

"Hmph," a smirk appeared on her face before she waved her hand, "go stew Princess while I see whether I can get you another audience with your precious friend." She suddenly palmed the door close before Cagalli could get in another word, leaving her alone in her room.

After all the insults they traded to each other, she still couldn't believe that Shiho was willing to let her see Kira again. Sometimes, the girl puzzled her…

* * *

Shinn Asuka knew he should be afraid, especially as a prisoner of Blue Cosmos, but somehow, he did not feel afraid. In fact, he felt quite odd, as if there was somehow a familiarity to this place that he was holed up in. How could a Coordinator like him feel so familiar in a place that was crawling with Naturals who would want nothing more than to kill him because of what he was?

He knew he was a prisoner, yet the room they had put him in wasn't the bare bones cells that he had expected or had seen on the Minerva. It had all the amenities, minus a cooking unit and food storage, a person living in a studio would have. The only thing that reminded him that he was a prisoner in this facility was that his door was constantly locked. It only opened whenever someone brought him food, mostly the doe-eyed girl who called herself Stellar, but rarely was it a regular soldier who basically left his food and got out as fast as possible.

Stellar herself was an enigma, Shinn mused mostly to himself as he laid on his bed, fingers laced behind his head. When he had first woken up after blacking out in the middle of his battle with the Freedom, he had found her staring at him with a child-like gaze. He had initially been on the defensive, wondering if she was a ploy by his captors to seduce him or even make him vulnerable, but when she didn't do anything else but stare, he had become distinctly uncomfortable at the silence.

She had then suddenly introduced herself and told him that he was in a facility that belonged to Blue Cosmos. When she had said that he had immediately expected armed guards storming in, ready to take him to be tortured or worst, shot, but no one came and Stellar had explained that he was a guest.

He had initially resisted the idea, after all, Blue Cosmos hated all Coordinators, no matter what, but ever since then, and his only company had been her and no one else. He suspected cameras were probably recording his every move, but at this point, didn't care. Let his captors sweat a bit at holding a Coordinator. He would be able to beat any of them if they dared come in and hurt him. No Natural's reflexes were as fast as a Coordinator's.

A soft thud from his door, made him turn slightly in his bed, frowning. Who would make a thud? Unless it was someone rescuing him? But how would his rescuers know where to find this facility? He hauled himself up from the bed and tip-toed over to the door, pressing his ear against the cool steel. He did not hear any signs of battle…

Just then the door slid open and Shinn jumped back slightly in surprise before stretching out his hands to catch Stellar's body as she unceremoniously slumped into his arms.

"Stellar!" he gasped before glancing outside. There was no one else in the hallway so why would she suddenly collapse? Glancing down at her, he noticed that she was shivering and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut; he grimaced and glanced outside again. Part of him screamed for him to escape, but he didn't even know the layout of the facility! The other part of him wondered what had made the fragile doe-eyed girl as frightened as this…

"To hell with it," he muttered as he dragged her in as best as he could and the door slid shut with a definitive click, locking him in once more. He managed to drag her to his bed and laid her half on the bed before gently picking up her feet and setting them on the bed. He stared at her shivering form for a few minutes, scratching his head. This was the most physical contact he had with the girl, especially since he had been restraining himself to reach out and attempt to wipe the innate sadness from her eyes.

"Stellar?" he asked quietly, reaching out and tentatively touching one of her hands.

His eyes widened in shock as she suddenly grasped onto his hand with a tremendous force and yanked him down towards the bed. He lost his footing and went tumbling into the sheets headfirst with a startled yelp before he felt his hand being wrenched around painfully, pinned against his own head into the mattress.

"Who are you!" the voice was Stellar's, but the tone, it was so icy cold and frozen. He looked up with his one visible eye and choked out a gasp of shock at her expression. Her beautiful doe-eyes were now frozen slits, glaring at him as if she did not recognize him. "Why are you trying to kill me?!"

"Stellar!" he managed to get out, wincing against the pressure and pain shooting up and down his arm. He could feel the beginnings of a fracture running along his arm. "It's me…S-Shinn…"

He gasped as the pain spiked a bit and looked desperately into the frozen eyes, "I won't hurt you! I was trying to protect you!"

"P-Protect…?" her eyes flashed with an expression he didn't quite catch before the pressure eased from his hand and he swallowed gratefully. He turned his head slightly to see her eyes return to their softened and curious gaze before he tentatively moved his arm and extracted himself from his bed, all the while making sure to move slowly in case he provoked her again with his fast movements.

Finally he sat down on the bed and stared up at her. "Stellar?"

"Shinn…you'll protect Stellar?" she blinked at him and he nodded, feeling a bit hesitant, but he realized that he really wanted to keep her safe. She looked far too innocent to be a member of Blue Cosmos and was probably another prisoner within this base like him. She was probably ordered to make sure he cooperated, but he didn't care. When he escaped from here, he would take her with him. She deserved to be protected, like his sister Mayu.

"I'll protect you," he murmured before reaching out with his good hand and touched her fingers. "Will you let me?"

"Yes," she nodded before suddenly lacing her fingers through his in a move that startled him before he blushed slightly at the contact. He let a small private smile quirk on his lips.

Perhaps, this time, he would not fail to protect the person that was most precious to him.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Yes, I finally got to the Shinn/Stellar pairing. No I have no bias between Shinn/Stellar or Shinn/Luna. I happen to like both actually. Each has their own merits and bad parts. Anyways, a lot of information in this chapter as you can see. We're getting to the point where a lot of stuff will be happening so if you need to re-read chapters to piece together this massive puzzle, by all means, go ahead! Again, please leave reviews! I thrive on reviews!


	11. Secrets in the Isolation

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Eleven – Secrets in the Isolation_

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb**

Athrun could not quite keep the shock from appearing on neither his face nor his jaw from dropping open at the news. It was one thing to hear that Kanoko Yamato was once part of the Ultimate Coordinator Project at Mendel, but quite another to hear that before that, she was a member of Blue Cosmos, the most fanatical group of Coordinator-haters that ever existed. He took a quick glance at Canard and Lacus and saw that while Lacus had schooled her expression to be neutral, there was sadness in her eyes. Canard just looked completely appalled.

"Everyone in Rodina was part of Blue Cosmos, because it was they who funded our research," Kanoko started softly, bringing his attention back to her, "but there were some scientists who were more fanatical than your average member."

"Was the virus part of their research?" Lacus asked gently.

Kanoko nodded, "Yes. Back then, we had been assigned to research a way we could use a gene therapy of sorts to prevent anyone from tampering with the human genome ever again, thereby slowly eliminating Coordinators and preventing future parents from creating first-generation Coordinators.

"Sometime after we started the research, my assistant and I stumbled upon a particular component of the supposed therapy and we realized that it could be used as a biological weapon and as a way to permanently activate a particular set of genes within every person to enhance their cognitive abilities.

"The misconception was that humans used only 10 percent of their available brain functions for day to day tasks. In reality, no one knows how much brain function is used as it varies from person to person, Natural and Coordinator, but the component we discovered could enhance a person to the point of being a Coordinator, without the genetic alterations."

"But isn't that still altering genes?" Canard looked confused.

Kanoko shook her head, "No, only because it was a man-made virus we created."

"I don't think Blue Cosmos would have allowed that to stay under wraps for long," Athrun muttered a bit darkly.

She glanced at him and nodded in agreement, "They didn't. By that time, my research assistant had decided to take the fall and credit for it while I was making my own plans to escape the facility and start a new life. I had realized that I didn't want to be part of anything that had so many disregards for human life. She helped me escape and I burned all of the files we've had on that particular component."

"Why did you join Hibiki's project then? That was certainly a lot of human life wasted," Canard snorted disdainfully, narrowing his eyes at her.

Athrun wanted to defend Kira's mother, but even he was curious as to why she had joined up with another project that apparently placed so little value to human life, judging by the number of failed attempts before Canard and Kira were created. But as he stared at Kanoko, he could see the guilt written on her face and knew that she carried a lot of skeletons and darkness in her past. This woman was privy to so much of history, mostly its ugly side, but survived to see a new future…

"I…" she looked like she was about to break down in tears before chewing the bottom of her lip and steeling herself once more, "I was taken in by Dr. Hibiki's lies. He had claimed that he wanted to help others, to create the perfect Coordinator to help both Naturals and other Coordinators: to help Naturals by providing the perfect DNA strand in which to study new cures; to help Coordinators by attempting to find out why the population was declining generation after generation. To do all of this and more…I didn't realize how many precious lives we had sacrificed until Katherine opened up mine and Uzumi's eyes.

"I realized then that I was no better than what I was at Rodina. I was a coward…who was easily swayed by lies and the false promise of better futures."

"They sound like excuses," Canard muttered and Athrun glared at the man.

"Canard," he growled; brother to Kira and Cagalli or not, he was wrong about Kanoko.

"No, he's right," Kira's mother held up her hand to stop him from saying anything else, "They are petty excuses."

"Auntie, what happened to the research assistant that helped you?" Lacus suddenly asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know…but as far as I knew, the virus was never released to the public so I can assume that she destroyed her notes and refused to tell others what we had discovered. But based on what I found from the blood samples I received, I'm not too sure if she did withhold the information. Otherwise, someone else could have stumbled upon the same discovery we had and just applied it."

"It sounds too much like coincidence to be true," Canard rubbed his chin, "OMNI and more importantly Blue Cosmos never operates on chance or discoveries. There's always a method to their work."

"Then maybe Rodina would also hold a cure to the plague, right?" Athrun asked, feeling a slight bit of hope fill him. If Kira and Cagalli were at that place and a cure could also be found, then Admiral Ramius would have to allow a full-scale assault on the base.

"If we do allow the Liberation Forces in, it would have to be planned very carefully. I can talk to Senator Ingriss about allowing our ships into Siberia, but if we are wrong, then the Forces' reputation would be discredited, especially since Cagalli is still missing. I can persuade the PLANT Supreme Council, but the Earth Senate would still look at it as hostile acts from PLANTs and from ZAFT instead of seeing a coalition force," Lacus' grave tone made him look at her and he realized that she was telling the truth.

Metaphorically, anything they did at the moment was on eggshells. Cagalli had the support and respect of most Naturals within the Earth Senate, especially with her acts during the Talon Incident. While the LF had the respect of all military bodies, there were still countries like the Eurasian Federation that disliked the presence of Coordinators within the LF. With the recent Blue Cosmos attacks on Moscow and Berlin, it did not endear them to their good graces, especially since they took heavy losses in Berlin.

"I'll talk to Murrue about this," Athrun gave the three of them a grim smile, glad that they were at least getting somewhere. The _Eternal_ was already in dock, having undergone a massive overhaul that prevented it from racing to Berlin to aid the other ships, but he suspected that its repairs were probably nearly complete and he could get the Justice from its berth.

The only foreseeable issue he had with the plan was that the _Kusanagi_ would not be able to go along with the advance force, having suffered too much damage. It would take a while for the ship to be fully repaired. In fact all of the warships docked right now would have to undergo extensive repairs before they would be able to go into combat again. Plus gathering almost all of the LF's resources for one decisive strike against Rodina would take time, as there were quite a few ships in space patrolling the LaGrange points and they didn't know any information regarding the forces around Rodina or its layout.

"Lowe and the others of the Junk Guild may have some information regarding the topographical area of Rodina. I'll talk to them," Canard nodded, folding his arms across his chest.

"I will ask the Senate to remain calm in light of this crisis," Lacus gave them a faint smile before glancing at Kanoko, "they will also need an update on the virus. Any chance of making a cure?"

"Now that I know what to look for, there is a better chance. I don't know if I can give a definitive answer at the moment, but the sooner we raid Rodina, the better off I may be able to find the appropriate files and try to create a cure," Kira's mother looked at them with solemn eyes.

"Good. It will be hard to keep the Senate in line without Cagalli at the moment, but anything you can give me before I go before them would be much appreciated," Lacus stood up and touched her on the shoulder before nodding to the two of them and then headed out of her office.

Athrun took that as his cue to head out and inclined his head towards Kanoko. "Thank you, Auntie. I know it was hard for you, but the sooner we can bury these ghosts, the better off we'll be." He headed out of her office, intent on seeing Captain Gladys first regarding the _Minvera's_ orders and to reassure the crew that something would be done to find the other captured pilot, Shinn Asuka.

* * *

Lacus headed away from Kanoko's office and towards one of the many conference rooms she knew the rest of the Orb Council would be in, eager to hear Admiral Ramius' debriefing and eager to pounce on any inconsistencies before asserting their leadership over the rest of Orb. She knew that in the eyes of the Orb leadership, she was an outsider, and some of the members still suspected her strong ties with PLANT were an attempt to encroach upon the neutrality that Orb had long held.

Even in the eyes of most of the members of the Earth Senate she was a foreigner, a Coordinator who had too strong ties to PLANT, but yet in the eyes of PLANT, she was a foreigner with too strong and sympathetic ties to the Earth and Naturals. Though she was respected and her reputation was in high regard with her brethren, she was still an outsider.

Even so, she knew her voice would be heard, especially in the current crisis they were facing. She knew it was a risk to expose herself, after the doctored footage had been broadcast all over ESNN, but she had to reassure the people that she was not making armament deals nor betraying anyone else. Kira's capture by Blue Cosmos had taught her that they were all targets now. Someone wanted them dead or incapacitated.

She wanted to cry for Kira's sake, wanted to desperately rescue him, but she knew that he would want her safe. Tears would be shed later, even though her heart felt like it had been torn in two. To have him in Blue Cosmos' hands…it was unthinkable and it scared her, probably more so than Athrun or even the others knew. But she would be strong, for his sake and for hers. She would hold the line for Cagalli's sake and for Athrun's sake. She would not falter, nor would she fail. She had to be strong until he was back with them…then she would allow herself a small measure of comfort in his arms.

She took an elevator that shot her immediately up to the executive levels of Morganroete and stepped out, looking around the various Council members that milled about. She noticed that Admiral Ramius had not yet arrived, probably still talking to her men and directing the quarantine personnel to set up stations around the _Archangel_, _ReHOME_, and _Kusanagi_. Some of the Council members nodded their acknowledgment to her and she nodded back a greeting before she found the person that she was looking for.

Rondo Mina Sahaku was standing next to Reverend Malachio, the two of them in a quiet discussion. While Reverend Malachio was not an official member of the Orb Council, he was a welcomed guest whose occasional sage advice had help guide the country with a steady hand. He was respected in Uzumi Nara Attha's tenure and through Homura Attha's tenure and thus was still respected even now. To see him among the other members waiting to debrief Admiral Ramius was not a surprise.

However, Rondo Mina Sahaku was a surprise. Lacus had only heard of the woman and never met her in person until she had stepped off the _Archangel_ a few hours ago. Rumor had it that she had originally supported the Attha family's rule of Orb, but was completely disgusted when Orb was attacked by the Earth Alliance, especially the Atlantic Federation, and thus retreated to her space fortress the Ame no Mihashira. Her brother was killed sometime during the war and left her very bitter. How she had came to Earth again and gotten herself back into the political circle of Orb was a mystery.

A mystery that she intended to find out. She knew that the Sahakus were a very powerful family; even her late father had occasionally mentioned that as Coordinators, the Sahakus were political geniuses. Her father had once told her that if the Sahaku family were not affiliated with Orb, then perhaps one of the members of their family would have become Supreme Councilor of the PLANTs and maybe the war with the Earth Forces would have taken a different direction.

Malachio caught her eye and she stepped towards them. Holding out her hand to Mina, she gave the woman an easy smile, one that she always used for crowds during her concerts. "Councilor Sahaku, we weren't properly introduced earlier. I am Lacus Clyne, Representative of the PLANTs."

"Good to finally meet you, Representative Clyne," Mina replied, shaking her hand and giving her an equally sincere smile, "and please, just call me Mina. Titles are for idiots."

"You may call me Lacus then," she could feel the strong grip Mina had and it only reaffirmed the woman's position in her mind.

"I have to say, I am a fan of your songs. Your latest single, 'Fields of Hope', very hauntingly beautiful. My brother Ghina would have loved it," the older woman looked a bit sad when mentioning her brother, but it was so quick that Lacus almost didn't catch it.

"I am sorry for your loss. My father had spoken about you and your brother in high regard," she replied.

"Siegel Clyne wasn't it?" she gave a small laugh, "forgive me for saying this, but your father had tried more than once to convince the two of us to abandon Orb and live in the PLANTs. It was foolish for him to do so."

"I see," Lacus could hear the pride and venom in her voice, "then you wouldn't mind me asking, why come back now? If it is only to assert your position if Princess Cagalli does not return-"

"So that's the reason why you really want to meet me. I was told that you were unfailingly frank, but not as harsh as the bull-headed Lioness Princess," Mina suddenly laughed, not sinisterly, but not friendly either, "rest assured, Lacus, I am only here to make sure that the idiot Seran doesn't get his grimy hands on Orb's leadership. We Sahakus have long supported the Atthas and will continue to do so, even though they've made a few mistakes along the way."

Lacus allowed herself a genuine smile to appear on her face, "My fears are allayed, Mina. I apologize for questioning your motives."

She waved her apology away, "Question all you want. Just make sure that when you and the Liberation Forces are ready to move, you will have my support and I will force the other council members to agree with you."

"Please do not do that," her smile turned into a slight frown, "if we force any decision that others do not want to make then it is nothing more than a dictatorship."

Mina stared at her with a raised eyebrow before slowly nodding, "You have the same courage your father had, except probably more than he will ever have. If you had come to me with anything less than that, I would have dismissed you and what the Liberation Forces have stood for right then and there."

She suddenly leaned down and lowered her voice a bit, "It's not looking good, is it?"

"How-"

"I have my associations with the Junk Guild and Serpent Tail," she gave her a conspiratorial smile, "and if it is truly Blue Cosmos behind the Princess' kidnapping, I can provide Admiral Ramius with information regarding some of the targets my brother and I used to carry out for them."

Lacus blinked in surprise. She had always secretly prided herself as a conduit for information, especially since that was what her namesake force in the LF was supposed to do, but this was news. She glanced at Malachio and he nodded, confirming what Mina had whispered to her.

"Murata Azrael was an idiot. He didn't know we were Coordinators," her lips curled into a crooked smile, "but he did give us a lot of information. I'd be more than happy to share them if it will bring the Princess back sooner."

"Thank you," Lacus said gratefully just as the elevator dinged again and she turned slightly to see Murrue exit along with Captain Quinn Misali of the Kusanagi, the two of them looking grim.

As if an unspoken order had been said, the other Council members headed into the executive briefing room and Lacus looked up to see Mina brush past her, squeezing her arm once in reassurance before following the others into the room, leaving her alone with Malachio. She took the blind man's hand and smiled up at him, even though he could not see her, "Shall we follow?"

"Please," he gestured for her to lead the way and she followed both Murrue and Captain Misali in, the doors closing behind them.

* * *

**Rodina, Siberia**

Cloning…

When Kira first heard that word uttered from Terazuma's mouth a part of him hoped that it wasn't true. He had hoped that he had seen the last of the nightmares from Mendel with the death of Griever a year ago and the end of the war two years before that. But now, with Alexei claiming to be a perfected clone of Gilbert Dullindal or the other way around…

He knew that he shouldn't judge that all clones were evil, but he knew that time and time again, nothing good came of anything to do with clones. Not Griever, not Rau Le Creuset, not even the attempt at cloning. And if Dullindal was the clone of Terazuma and the two claimed to share the perfection of cloning, then why the hell was one with Blue Cosmos and the other the Supreme Chairman of PLANT?!

He sat in his bed, propped up by two pillows. Judging by his internal clock, he estimated that it had been less than a day since he had been introduced to the man. He found that his wounds had healed rapidly, but he knew that he still lacked the energy for any sort of escape, so he bid his time by studying his room and when he could, the corridor outside whenever the door opened to admit either Dr. Oligav or an assistant in.

He knew that he would have to find his sister through what was probably a maze of metallic and stone passageways, and potentially defeat her guard, a severe-looking woman named Shiho. He wished there was a computer console of sorts that he could try to hack into to get a layout of the area, but apparently Terazuma wasn't joking when he said he knew everything about him.

And that was what scared Kira the most. How did someone like him, a Blue Cosmos member, know everything about him? As far as he knew, the Ultimate Coordinator Project at Mendel was top secret and privy to only a few select sponsors, two of the most dominant were Patrick Zala and Anton Ariga LaFlaga. Even so, no one in their right mind would tell the world of the project unless they wanted anathema declared on them by both PLANT and the Earth Alliance.

Could Terazuma have been involved with the Talon, perhaps as a background supporter of Sven Anderson? Maybe that was how he found out his information about Kira? But that wasn't possible. Even though Anderson created Griever, there was no way that he could have perfected the process. Kira got headaches whenever Griever was around and a sick déjà vu sense. That was how he figured out how the _Brimstone_ survived the hellish battle in Panama and how he knew that Griever was at Mendel to try to kill him.

It was also how he was able to infiltrate the remnants of Mendel once more when he was trying to find Griever within the vast colony. He let the headache he had felt in Griever's presence lead him in the right direction. But then Anderson had ranted that _he_ was the perfection of a Coordinator and Griever was nothing more than a substitute. So did that mean that Griever was not a perfect clone of him?

And if so, what did Terazuma mean by that Dullindal was a perfect clone of him? Did the two not suffer headaches? He had long suspected that Rau Le Creuset was not a perfect clone of Mu's father, especially since he went completely psychotic and wanted nothing more than to let the world burn. So then how did Terazuma, who was probably a lot older than Rau create a clone?

Kira sighed, knowing that all of his questions would probably never be answered, even if he managed to escape and ask his mother about it. He suspected Ledonil would know even less and his father would refuse to talk about anything to do with Mendel. Asking Terazuma would probably get him nothing more than lies and it would acknowledge the fact that he was agreeing to aid him, with whatever he wanted.

But he still wanted to know how Terazuma came about the information on him and Cagalli. That information in his hands, in the hands of Blue Cosmos, could destroy everything they had worked so hard to achieve. It could destroy Cagalli, Athrun, and Lacus. He didn't care if it destroyed himself, but he was worried about his friends. The Liberation Forces would fall apart and both OMNI and ZAFT would be at each other's throats once more. Peace would be forever shattered in an instant.

However, he knew that he had at least one bargaining chip left. So far Terazuma was all hot air and no proof…

The door to his room suddenly opened and Kira looked up, his body tensing defensively before his eyes widened as he saw Cagalli being unceremoniously shoved into the room, the door closing once more.

"Cagalli!" he gave her a half smile, watching her brush herself off before facing him.

"Are you all right? Did that bastard do anything to you?" Cagalli rushed over and dragged the lone chair in the room next to his bed, staring up at him with concern.

"No," he shook his head, "I'm fine…"

She narrowed her eyes for a second before putting her hand on his forehead, making him blink a bit in surprise. "Hmm…you're not running a fever;" she took her hand away, "are you sure?"

"I'm sure;" he gave her a solemn nod, "are you okay? That guard did drag you away."

"Shiho's just like that," his sister shrugged, "it scares me though. I've been treated really well, or at least as well as I can be while being stuck in a freaking room, which scares me."

"Me too," Kira noted that Dr. Oligav, even though he suspected he may have been faking, was a caring doctor. "I don't want to be pessimistic, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Same here," she gave him a grim look, "do you think you're well enough to make an escape?"

"Now?" Kira realized that his sister probably knew more about the layout of wherever the hell they were since she had been a prisoner of Terazuma's far longer than he had been.

"If not now, when you idiot," she hissed angrily at him, "of course now!"

"What about Shiho?" he asked.

"What about her? She's a Natural, not a Coordinator," Cagalli scoffed.

"You sure? She could be one of those Natural-enhanced pilots," Kira cautioned. He had seen how strong Shiho's grip was on Cagalli when she dragged her out two days ago and suspected that the girl wasn't your average Natural, if she was that.

"A what?"

"Murrue told me that the pilots we fought during the war three years ago in Orb, Mendel, and Jachin Due were Naturals who were enhanced with a drug cocktail, turning them into living CPUs. She suspected that it was Blue Cosmos' attempt to try to get Naturals on par with Coordinators," he quietly explained.

"And we're in Blue Cosmos' lair," Cagalli finished for him before a frown appeared on her face, "it explains how the pilots were able to steal ZAFT's Gundams from Armory One, but Shiho isn't a pilot as far as I know."

"How?"

"I've seen the pilots who stole the suits. And I can tell you for sure that whatever Blue Cosmos is doing to them, it's definitely not like the Extendeds we encountered during the war. These guys are like probably the second version of the experiment. If Shiho is an Extended she may have a trigger word like that girl, Stellar."

"Trigger word?"

"The pilot of the Gaia, Stellar Loussier, collapses into a heap whenever you say the word 'die' to her. I don't know for sure if the other pilots have trigger words too, but if Shiho does have one, I haven't seen anyone use it on her."

"More importantly-"

"Wait, escape isn't that important?! Kira!" Cagalli hit him on the arm and he winced a bit.

"Wait, just listen," he held up his hands before dropping his voice to a whisper, "I need access to a computer console before we leave this place."

"Why?" she asked.

"Terazuma knows about us, about the Ultimate Coordinator Project, and about the war."

"Everyone knows about the war," his sister hissed, "but how the hell does he know about Mendel? And what does he know?"

"I don't know the full details, but he claims that he knows about my mom and dad, about the details of my life, how I fought with Athrun, how I survived the battle, how Lacus and I…"

"No way…" Cagalli looked shocked and Kira nodded.

"I'm serious," he said, "I don't know how he got this information, but if he has proof in his computer files, then I need to erase it before we leave."

"Why didn't he release it to the public?" he sister wondered. "Why did he wait to tell you all of this when he could have easily released it to the public when I was captured?"

"Cagalli?" Kira prodded his twin, both through their bond and with his hand.

Suddenly her eyes widened as she stared at him in horror, "Oh shit…"

"What?"

"H-Him! That guy! It all makes sense now! He's going to use him for—that fucking bastard. He's using him and her just to discredit Athrun and Lacus. He'll take them down with the information he knows!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?!" Kira tried to calm his sister down before she turned and looked at him.

"When I was captured by that bastard and knocked out, I noticed he looked exactly like Athrun," she furrowed her brow in anger, "it caught me off guard for a second and he was able to knock me out. I don't know if that guy is anything like Griever, but a few days after I woke up I was forced to watch a reenactment of some underground bunker area where it was very dark and a bunch of the Earth Senate's Senators were there along with a pink-haired girl who looked creepily like Lacus."

A pit of dread started to well in Kira's stomach as he remembered the doctored footage that was shown by ESNN hours before Berlin turned into a war zone once more.

"What I can't believe is that Ingriss was actually there. Not some actress who looked like her, but Ingriss had willingly participated. You would think that after her sister was killed by the Talon she would be more inclined to hunt the bastards down that did it. But they had used that creepy girl's image and told her that she was going to portray Lacus agreeing to some armament deal before they declare her missing from Moscow- She's not missing is she?"

"Lacus is well," Kira secretly hoped that the _Archangel_ had escaped from the battlefield. God help whoever he was going to kill if Lacus was killed in the attack.

"Good, because whereas I'm not sure about the guy who looks like Athrun, Triton or something like that, is a clone of Athrun, but I definitely do know that the girl they hired to portray Lacus is definitely an actress of sorts. Her name's like Meer or something like that. Some floozy," Cagalli waved her hand before she looked at him intently, "if Terazuma knows about you, me, Athrun and Lacus, he'll use those two to discredit them."

"Public opinion was already questioning whether Lacus was missing or not from Moscow when Blue Cosmos attacked us," Kira narrowed his eyes, understanding where his sister was going with her thoughts.

"Did you guys announce if she had been found?"

"No…"

"I hope the others figure it out before anything else happens because if what I think is probably what Terazuma will do, it'll be bad."

"What is that?"

"They'll probably want to kill Lacus then use the actress, Meer, to completely substitute her."

"Not quite, but very close Kira Yamato, Cagalli Yula Attha," Terazuma's voice from the door made them stare up in shock as the man stepped in and smiled down at them.

* * *

"Sir?"

"She has asked you to upload your location."

"It would compromise my efforts here."

"I know, but things have turned for the worst."

"Sir, what about Strike and Rouge?"

"Priority omega."

"Yes, sir."

She shut off the scrambled communicator and stepped out of the shadows of an abandoned hallway. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Things had gotten a little more complicated since the arrival of the one she recognized and code named Strike. There was also the other one she had named the Impulse, but after a bit of a background check, she had decided that he was not worth the effort.

She had hoped her superior officer would recognize the code name she had given to Strike, and apparently he did for she had received the omega order. Based on the news she had gathered in her posting, it would take at least a week if not a bit more before anything happened.

It would have to do for the time she needed to prepare her priority omega. The only problem was that she would have to do it while the battle raged. There were too many people and too many variables at the moment to safely execute her orders.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Things may seem to be winding down (just a bit), but that's only because our characters are now starting to piece together what they know! However, this is only the beginning of everything and we are definitely not even close to the halfway mark of this story! I hope I did Rondo Mina Sahaku some justice…she's kind of complex character to write for, luckily she's just here for a cameo appearance.

Oh yeah, for those of you who may be confused by Kanoko's explanation, just remember, she's still keeping some secrets, especially when they concern Rodina and Mendel. She's got a lot of skeletons in her closet that she would rather keep hidden from others.

Again, please review! I love and thrive on reviews!


	12. The Labyrinth Called Politics

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Twelve – The Labyrinth Called Politics_

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb**

Repair crews were already swarming over the _Minerva_ as Athrun entered into its hanger bay. He saw the ship's own technicians hastily patching up the two Zakus of both Flight Officer Hawke and Lieutenant (jg) Za Burrel. On the opposite side of the hanger bay, the glaringly obvious signs of the missing Savior and Impulse remained and he noticed that many of the crew avoided looking at the particular spot where the two Gundams would have sat.

He sympathized with the crew's thoughts, having felt the same way when Nicol had died, but at least this time, there was still some hope of rescue for Shinn. Granted he did not very high thoughts of the brash young pilot, especially since he completely went insane on the battlefield and attacked Kira in Berlin, but he did respect his skills. Shinn had a natural instinct that Athrun had faintly recognized. It was similar to Kira's fighting style, but with a lot more physical combat involved.

In Berlin, while, he had been fighting off waves of Serpent units, he had seen Shinn smash apart the forces that were attempting to harass the _Minerva_ with nothing more than his bare hands and improvised weaponry when the Impulse's own weaponry ran low. But to see such brutality unleashed upon the Freedom, it had shocked him and it was probably one of the surprising factors that contributed to him being unable to stop Shinn from nearly pulverizing Kira's Gundam.

"S-Sir…" a small timid voice spoke up behind him and Athrun turned to see Vino Dupre, one of the technicians staring at him, a sad expression on his face.

"What is it?" he asked, wondering what had gotten into the tech. It was then that he realized he had been staring at the empty spot where the Impulse usually sat, something all of the others had been avoiding.

"Commander Zala, sir, I…wanted to apologize on Shinn's behalf for attacking the Freedom," Vino suddenly spilled out, bowing his head slightly and Athrun blinked in surprise. This was new…he didn't know that Shinn had been really good friends with the tech. Usually it was an unspoken word between pilots and tech that they avoided each other whenever they were not assigned to repair the machines together. Granted each considered the other comrades, but usually techs were NCOs and Academy officers didn't really fraternize with non-commissioned officers.

"I know you tried to stop him, I don't know what came over Shinn to do something like that-"

Athrun placed a hand on Vino's shoulder to stop the young tech from babbling, "Your concerns are noted and we will find him. Don't lose hope." He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile to the tech before lifting his hand off of his shoulder. "Now, do you know if Captain Gladys is on the bridge?"

"N-No sir," Vino shook his head, looking a lot better, "she is probably in her office."

"Thanks," he said before heading away towards the inner confines of the warship. As he threaded his way towards Captain Gladys' office, he could see that morale was low and recognized what he had failed to see in the trip between rendezvousing with the _Minerva _and arriving at Berlin that Shinn really had a presence within the ship. It also didn't help that they had lost the battle against Blue Cosmos, but it seemed like everyone's spirits was somewhat low.

He hoped the news that he gave to Captain Gladys would at least be able to bring some of that fighting spirit back. He knew that he would have to clear it with the Chairman since technically the _Minerva_ was under his direct command; it was still protocol to at least let the Supreme Chairman where he was taking the ship.

He arrived at Talia's office door and knocked. Her muffled command of enter was followed by the door sliding open and he stepped in. "Excuse me," he said as he noticed both Lunamaria and Rey were standing in front of her desk, apparently in mid-discussion. The door slid close behind him and he cleared his throat. "If this is a bad time…"

"No, its okay, we were just deciding what our next move should be after we head back to Carpentaria," Athrun noted that she looked exhausted. Granted all of them were exhausted from the battle, but it looked like she had not even at least attempt to get some sleep in between limping from Berlin to Orb.

"Lacus will be proposing to the rest of the Orb Council and the Earth Senate for additional ships to join the LF to assault Rodina," Athrun said, "I will have to clear it with Chairman Dullindal first, but I would like the _Minerva_ to also participate." He let a small smile appear on his face as he saw the brightened expressions appear on both Lunamaria and Captain Gladys' faces. However, Rey kept his stoic expression and only nodded once.

"It is good news, but how do we know that the information that was transmitted to all the ships warrant Rodina to be accurate?" Talia asked, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on it.

"I've checked with our sources and they say that it is a good chance that is where both the pilot of the Freedom and Flight Officer Asuka were taken," Athrun was careful not to mention Kira's name.

"Hey…who is the pilot of the Freedom, I mean; I've never seen Shinn snap like that," Lunamaria suddenly asked and Athrun stiffened a bit.

"Shinn told me that his parents were killed by the Freedom during the battle for Orb three years ago," Rey suddenly spoke up quietly and Athrun blinked in surprise. That was news and it wasn't listed on Shinn's personnel file. It only listed that he was a citizen of Orb until he evacuated the country during the war then listed him as a citizen of Marius Eight.

"I'm…not at liberty to say," was the only diplomatic thing Athrun could say, knowing that all of the people in the room probably harbored resentment towards whoever had stolen the Freedom since it was technically a ZAFT suit.

"Maybe Shinn also had orders to take the Freedom back?" the red-headed girl shrugged.

"Flight Officer Hawke!" Talia's tone was serious and he watched as Lunamaria immediately shut up and stood at attention.

"Sorry ma'am," the junior officer said, "I was out of line."

"I apologize, Commander," Talia looked at him and he nodded, accepting her apology, "please note that we mean the LF no harm nor would ever think about recovering the Freedom or the Justice. PLANT has acknowledged that they rightfully belong to the peacekeeping force under your fiancée's jurisdiction."

"No harm done," he said just as her comm. beeped and she pressed a button to answer it.

"Gladys here."

"Captain, we have Chairman Dullindal on the line. He requests that you and Lieutenant Commander Zala be there to answer it. Is Commander Zala there?" the electronically tinned voice of Arthur Trine, second-in-command of the ship spoke.

"He is, please put it through," Talia looked at him and he shrugged, not knowing why Dullindal would call him now.

There was a few seconds of silence before Dullindal's image popped up on the view screen across from Talia's desk. Athrun noted that the man looked a bit tired, fatigue lining the corners of his eyes, but smiled at them in a greeting. Behind him he could still see the myriad of monitors that blared different programming.

"I'm glad to see that the _Minerva_ survived Berlin. My condolences on the loss of the Impulse and his pilot," Dullindal bowed his head slightly before tapping a few things off the screen, "I've received your messages Captain and would like to know how you came by the location of Rodina. As far as my sources know, it is a wasteland, nothing exists, only a few irradiated spots where the N-Jammers weren't able to disable to nuclear waste out there."

"The LF's sources claim that it is the most possible spot where both the pilots of the Freedom and the Impulse were taken, along with Princess Cagalli," Athrun replied, "I would like the _Minerva_ to participate in the task forces that will be heading out there in a few days."

"Did Admiral Ramius ask this?" Dullindal looked surprised.

"No sir," Athrun replied, "but given the fact that the Impulse's berth is with the _Minerva_, it would seem prudent for the ship to continue its mission to rescue one of its pilots."

"That's odd," Dullindal looked off screen for a second before turning back, "because my sources are claiming that the Princess may be held somewhere in the vicinity of the remnants of what was JOSH-A, where nothing could penetrate the area as to Rodina. According to the map I'm seeing, Rodina is a very small village with a population of only less than four hundred."

Athrun raised an eyebrow. He wanted to tell Dullindal that his sources were wrong and it was Rodina where Kira, Cagalli, and Shinn were held, but it meant proving the Chairman that he was wrong and he did not want to say that Kanoko was a former scientist of Blue Cosmos. He also didn't have the clearance to publicly say that the Chairman was wrong, especially since he was wearing the FAITH pin.

"Regardless," Dullindal continued, "I would have to decline the use of the _Minerva_ because she is due back for a massive upgrade and since it seems that Blue Cosmos is on the move again, this upgrade would be very useful. I'm sorry Commander, you'll have to let Admiral Ramius or even Lacus Clyne know that the _Minerva_ will not be able to participate in the mission."

"Sir-"

"Captain, those are my orders," Dullindal shook his head at Talia's protest.

"Yes sir," she replied, pursing her lips.

"Then I request permission to stay on Earth. My first and foremost mission is to search for the Princess. If Rodina is where the Princess is located, then I will go."

"Permission denied."

"What?!" Athrun looked shocked. "Chairman Dullindal-"

"Need I remind you of the pin you are wearing, Commander?"

"No sir," Athrun clenched a fist in frustration, "may I ask why sir?"

Dullindal suddenly looked very tired and reluctantly brought up a small screen on the corner of their communication window. "We've intercepted this before it could be spread to the media, but there is a good chance the media may have already gotten it." He tapped a few buttons off screen and the grainy image started to play.

"_Did they agree?"_

"_They were nervous, but I reassured them that the LF wouldn't use the weapons without clear provocation."_

"_I think after Berlin, that's pretty clear provocation. I'll let Ramius know we have a go."_

"_The sacrifices of a few to save millions?"_

"_Those Naturals are already dying. The only way to stop this plague is to kill the areas infected. Sterilization isn't pretty, but it must be done."_

"_For our fathers and for the future."_

"_Hold on…someone's watching-"_

Athrun heard the sound of a gunshot before the video fizzled to static and couldn't keep his jaw from dropping open in shock and horror at what he had seen. He barely noticed the shocked expression on Lunamaria's face while both Rey and Talia were trying to their best to keep their expressions neutral.

"That isn't me," he leveled the Chairman with as steady of a gaze as possible. He had instantly recognized his doppelganger, the one who had been piloting the Dendrobium Orchis. However, whoever they had to play the part of Lacus looked eerily like her. He could see the little differences between the look-alike and Lacus, but knew that to anyone who saw her, they would instantly think that she was Lacus.

"It would seem that way, but if this spreads, it would be hard to control the damage, especially since you and Representative Clyne are so well known. This is also one of the reasons why I would like you back up here. I know your priority is to look for the Princess, but if this breaks while you are attacking Rodina, I cannot help you or Representative Clyne."

"How did you come by it?" he asked, curious.

"Not on an open channel," Dullindal looked worried before glancing off the screen and nodding to someone before turning back to them, "you have your orders. Dullindal out."

The communication abruptly cut off, leaving Athrun frowning. A part of him wanted to defy Dullindal's orders and just head to Rodina where he knew that it was more a chance to find Cagalli and Kira than at the remnants of JOSH-A. But the other part was worried about the fallout from the footage that Dullindal had just shown them. He couldn't come out and say that the person in the video was an imposter, that someone was framing him. He needed proof, but he couldn't risk exposing Lacus or himself to the public like that. Not when he and the others had discussed the possibility that someone was after him and Lacus.

He glanced down at his FAITH pin and gritted his teeth. He could only hope that when he did return to Earth, he would at least help clean up whatever was left of Rodina because there was no way he was going to answer to Dullindal anymore.

Not when he was sure that Cagalli and Kira were at Rodina.

* * *

**Debris Belt Orbiting Earth**

Yzak Joule sighed and suppressed the urge to cough as he shut off a small personal communicator that he was holding in his hand. He had received a narrow-beam text-only message from Lacus a few hours ago and had only just finished communicating her request to his person inside Blue Cosmos.

He didn't like the idea of revealing an insider's location until he felt the insider was ready. This was too hasty, too rushed in his opinion. Even though he heard the news of the Freedom's pilot being captured he still thought it was too rushed. He had wanted to caution Lacus against making any rash decisions, but he knew that she would not really listen to his cautions. She was too focused on the pilot of the Freedom and he knew Athrun felt the same way.

If he had to make personnel decisions he would never have let Kira Yamato ever pilot the Freedom again. Granted the Coordinator's abilities far exceeded his own and he was very powerful in his own right, he was still too attached to both Athrun and Lacus, both whom were in leadership positions.

One prisoner he knew his agent could rescue, but two? That was asking almost the impossible. He didn't know what condition Yamato was in, but at least the Princess was up and mobile.

He finally expelled the cough that had been sitting in his chest and was mildly disturbed to hear his breath wheeze from the effort. Shaking his head, he secretly wanted to kill whichever personnel had brought the sickness on board from his or her last shore leave. Coordinators rarely, if at all, got sick. Whoever brought this on board the ship must have only recently recovered. At least it was only a cough. Dearka and some of the others crew members had sniffles.

The thought about his best friend made him stiffen slightly. He had originally been shocked to find out that Yamato had been Athrun's best friend, childhood friend even, which had only fueled his hatred against the pilot even more since he killed Nicol. It had also questioned Athrun's willingness to kill Yamato during the war. But judging on the actions Athrun had taken with the Aegis, he was sure of his ex-teammate's actions. But if Yamato was Athrun's best friend and he was rushing headlong into the fire, would he do the same if Dearka were in the same position?

No…he realized. Yes, he would have probably gone a bit spare at the prospect, but there was a part of him that still couldn't exactly forgive Dearka for betraying him and joining up with the rogue ships of the Clyne Faction during the war. He understood Dearka's reasoning now, but he knew that deep down, he still could not believe it. He knew his priorities and that was what separated him from Athrun.

"Did you eat a lemon?" Dearka's wiry voice greeted him from the doorway to his office and he looked up to see him smirking at him.

"Shut up," he shot back before putting the communicator away in his pocket. "Status?"

"Your face was all scrunched up, so I figured you must have eaten a lemon. Anyways, Dullindal wants us to escort the _Minerva_ to Aprilius One when she reaches orbit. Apparently she's heavily damaged. The LF is trying to fix her up halfway, but it looks like they're devoting most of their resources into fixing the other warships so they can attack some place called Rodina," Dearka replied.

Yzak nodded; he had not told Dearka about his agent within Blue Cosmos nor would he ever tell anyone about his other agents hidden in different hot spots and zones. It was between him and Lacus. It was also a precaution against Dearka because he was currently under close watch by the other members of the ship, some of whom he knew reported directly back to Chairman Dullindal as the man's own spies.

When his friend had asked him if he could join up with the Clyne Faction, part of the reasons needing to be away from his ex-girlfriend or something, his influence had barely gotten Dearka back into ZAFT and FAITH. The other reason was that he had not been able to see his parents since the war and Yzak knew that he missed them terribly.

He noticed that Dearka had a slightly pained expression beneath his smirk, and narrowed his eyes a bit. Surely he didn't miss his parents now? He would have laughed in the face of that if it didn't send him into a coughing fit. "You're not worried about Rodina…"

"Well…" Dearka looked down for a second, his smirk dissolving into a worried expression before staring up at him again. "I just found out that Miri was at Berlin…her sister station was there and she was sent out to cover it…"

Yzak waited patiently for him to continue. He knew that he had changed since the war, gone was the impatience and yelling, even though he was occasionally prone to do such things at times, but ever since he had gotten command of his ships, it had taught him the value of just patiently waiting out certain things.

"I think she's all right, but she hasn't been answering any of my calls…"

Yzak mentally sighed. Now he wanted to yell at his best friend, tell him that Miriallia Haw was his _ex_-girlfriend, not present girlfriend. Why Dearka was still holding a torch for her was beyond him, but he did know that he was worried for her health and safety, especially in light of a nuclear explosion that should have been prevented with the N-Jammer Cancellers all around the Earth. It meant that Blue Cosmos had somehow neutralized the PLANT-made technology.

He sighed, suppressing the urge to cough again and tapped his chest lightly to get rid of the feeling. The effort was for naught as it just made him clear his throat. "After we escort the _Minerva_, I'll sign off on shore-leave for you to head down to Earth, all right?"

He looked up to see a grin on Dearka's face before his best friend quipped, "How about you? You look like you can use some R&R."

Yzak snorted in derision. "I like it up here in space."

"Whatever," his best friend laughed before heading out the door, leaving him in the quiet peace once more.

* * *

**Onogoro** **Island, Orb**

Lacus walked next to Murrue as they headed towards the Earth Senate building, having finished briefing the Orb Council a few hours ago. The Orb Council had given their approval for the assault on Rodina and now they needed to convince the Earth Senate. The only other thing she needed was at least a layout of the surrounding area and perhaps compound that hopefully Yzak's agent would be able to get to her within a week. She knew it was a risky thing to ask, but they needed to act quickly.

She had no doubts that Rodina was probably a trap for the LF since the location did come from the pilot of the Dendrobium, but the more information they had about the place, the more opportunities they would have to evade the trap. Murrue had already given her the estimates for full repairs on the _Archangel_ and _Kusanagi_ to be about a week, which was enough time to recall some of the other LF ships that weren't on highly sensitive patrols in both the Earth and in space.

"Haro! Myta!" Pink-chan suddenly burbled from where he sat in her hands, a reassuring and comforting presence. She had been carrying him in the folds of her dress, but had muted him so he could not make a fuss during the briefing. She knew Tori was with Kira's mother, having been entrusted to her safe care while they had gone to Moscow. She let Pink-chan drop to the floor where it began to bounce and follow her.

"I am surprised that your Haro has kept quiet all this time," Murrue smiled at Pink-chan's antics.

"Pink-chan is a reassuring presence," Lacus replied, "plus he is quite useful."

"I have no doubt of that," she replied before sighing, "It was hard trying to convince the Council. It will be harder to convince the Senate."

"It will be, but we must ask their permission before bringing ships into an area that had no reports of conflict. You know as well as I do that if we don't, all that the Liberation Forces stand for will be for naught. We would only be looked as invaders instead of peacekeepers," Lacus replied in a firm tone.

Murrue was silent for a few minutes and Lacus knew what the woman was thinking. It mirrored her own thoughts, more frequently now than in the past year. She knew that many in the Earth Senate looked at the LF as invaders and wanted the neutral force to stop poking around in its affairs, yet when a conflict arose; they expected the LF to step up and do their duty.

Political perspective placed so much on her shoulders and that of Cagalli's that it was a miracle that the two of them were able to weather so much. Military pressure was solely on Murrue's shoulders as she bore the brunt of the _Archangel_ as the flagship and the fact that OMNI considered her a traitor and a defector. Given the chance, they wouldn't hesitate to court martial her for desertion during wartime and for other charges pertaining to the battle of Jachin Due.

The only thing that stopped them was the military might of Orb, the political influences of her and Cagalli, and the fact that no ships currently in its fleet save for perhaps the _Minerva_ would be able to successfully shoot down the _Archangel_ without incurring severe losses.

"How is Prayer?" she finally spoke up quietly.

She smiled and nodded once, "He is well. Dr. Yamato was able to stabilize him."

"Do you know what happened to him? All I know was that he was in a lot of pain and it looked like he was having a heart attack…"

"I was told that he had a rare genetic condition. It stresses his body at times and while Dr. Yamato didn't tell me anything, I think it could be due to an enlarged heart or something similar," she neatly side-stepped the real reason behind Prayer's condition.

"That's odd…he came highly recommended by Reverend Malachio and he didn't mention anything about a genetic condition… Maybe I should take him off of flight duty…" Murrue pursed her lips at the thought, "but we do need him if we're going to Rodina…"

Lacus left her to her thoughts as she held out her hand and Pink-chan hopped into it. She pushed a few minute buttons on Pink-chan before he fell silent and she slipped him back into the folds of her dress as they approached the doors to the Senate Hall.

"Ma'am, they are ready for you," an aide standing by the door spoke up and she bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment. She mentally took a deep breath before the doors opened up and she stepped into the arena.

The hall was large and spacious, most of it rebuilt after the horrific explosions that had destroyed nearly half of the building in Griever's attack. Windows adorned the area, letting the bright natural sunlight filter in and it gave the hall a pleasant feeling, but that pleasantry died quickly with the expressions on most of the Senators' faces.

A podium stood in the middle of the hall and behind the podium and against the walls were seats, some filled with guest dignitaries that had been visiting at the time, but she noticed one particular one that was absent. It was where Cagalli used to sit during the sessions, a quick walk away from manning the podium to quell shouting matches or heated debates that would normally break out from the theatre.

Lacus noticed her own seat in the front rows of the Senate and smiled a bit at the person occupying the seat next to hers. Yuri Aaron Amalfi had only be recently reinstated to his position as co-representatives of PLANT, having been cleared of all charges related to the Talon Incident in a full investigation by OMNI, LF, and ZAFT. He was a welcomed sight to which she knew would be a hectic battle to convince the rest of the Earth Senators to agree to the LF's plan.

Curiously, she noticed that Rosalie Ingriss, one of the many representatives of the Eurasian Federation was missing. She sincerely hoped the woman was not missing or amongst the dead after Blue Cosmos attacked Moscow. She had hoped to count on the fiery woman's support, but would have to make do without her presence.

She stepped up to the podium, noting that Murrue stood beside the podium at strict attention. "Honorable ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I, Lacus Clyne, come before you during these turbulent times. As you have seen in the news and through the reports by your fellow countrymen, individuals claiming to be part of Blue Cosmos have attacked your cities and towns." She was careful to mention that it wasn't Blue Cosmos outright, only because she knew from experience that placing the blame on any one group was sure to rile up another and they still didn't have the solid proof needed in order to convince the Senate that it was truly Blue Cosmos.

"The Liberation Forces have been investigating these attacks and rumors for some time. While we were unable to prevent some damage from being done, we have turned up a location we would like to investigate. My sources and Admiral Ramius' sources have asked that we look into a location known as Rodina in Siberia," Lacus paused in her speech as she heard whispers immediately flare up from the theatre and gallery before her.

She risked a quick look at Yuri and saw him raise an eyebrow at her and she nodded. Though the Amalfi family was at least three times removed from being Earth transplants, their family history was rooted deep within the Eurasian Federation and what was once Russia.

She took a quick short breath and steeled herself, "We believe that the source of the virus that has been infecting the citizens of Earth is within Rodina and we intended to neutralize the threat."

"You're going to blow up the cure?!" one of the Senators suddenly shouted and a few others around him voiced their agreement.

Lacus held up a hand, "I did not say we were going to destroy the cure. I said we were going to neutralize the threat. We believe that a cure may be found within Rodina and intended to mass produce it and share it with everyone."

"But Siberia is nothing but a wasteland! It's so radioactive and hot from the war that not even the N-Jammers _planted_ there are having an effect!" a female senator shouted, barely holding in the contempt when she emphasized her words.

"It is also the perfect place to hide such a creation," Lacus replied coolly.

"Then why not JOSH-A? Those bastards blew up half of the forces there! Admiral Ramius said so herself that there was a Cyclops system hidden in there! Perfect place for the stupid Atlantic Federation Blue Cosmos to hide out-"

"Not all of us are Blue Cosmos supporters you idiot!"

"How dare you-"

"JOSH-A is barren! Nothing can survive there! If there was a settlement there, no food would exist-"

"Water's so polluted-"

"You think those idiots would even hide in Siberia then attack Moscow?!"

"My city burned because of it!"

"Yeah? Well my people are dying!"

Lacus shook her head at the war of words between some of the senators. She knew the bickering would start soon enough and tapped the gavel on the podium firmly to call them back to order. How Cagalli managed the Senate day in and day out gave her a new healthy respect for Kira's sister.

"With respect to the Atlantic Federation representatives, but Senator Chung is correct. Whatever is left of JOSH-A would be uninhabitable and unsustainable for life for the next few hundred of years. If such a settlement existed, then supplies would have to be brought in on a daily basis and radiation sickness would prevail," Lacus said, "the LF only asks for permission to investigate Rodina."

"And what happens if it ends up like Berlin?" the voice that spoke up startled her and she gave a curious look to Yuri who stood up. Even the rest of the Senate had immediately stopped whispering at Amalfi's question.

"The tragedy that occurred in Berlin is my fault," Murrue suddenly spoke up from her side and stepped forward, "we were woefully unprepared to meet such a force. We did not realize that they had prepared so much in advance thus we believe that striking at them now will nip it in the bud."

"You still have their mobile suits to deal with," another senator spoke up as Yuri sat down, satisfied with Murrue's answer.

"This is why I am asking for the Senate's permission to include ZAFT built ships on this mission," Lacus continued, "I understand the hesitation to allow my people's ships on your soil, but it will lessen the strain your forces have to deal with."

"What about your armaments deal that you made with Ingriss? To supply ZAFT ships with more firepower than even the _Archangel_?" the same senator asked and Lacus frowned. This was something she had not expected, yet she knew she should have expected.

"I have agreed to no such deal," she stated in a simple tone, "what was shown on ESNN was nothing more than a doctored video. One of our allies at the Junk Guild can attest and swear to that fact. Senator Ingriss and her colleagues invited me to Moscow to discuss finding a cure to the plague."

"We will have to verify that claim, Representative Clyne," one of the senior senators spoke up and she nodded, hoping that Lowe would be able to forgive her for putting him on the spot.

She wondered if Canard would be able to provide some testimony since he seemed to know a lot more about doctoring footage or even the camera that had captured her meeting with Senator Ingriss and the others in Moscow.

"In the meantime, we will consider your proposal and since you claim this is urgent, get back to you within a week. Please notify this person in the Junk Guild that he or she is to appear before us tomorrow," the senator nodded to her and she bowed her head slightly.

"Thank you. I await your verdict," she looked at them for a second before heading away from the podium and out the door, Murrue following behind her. Now they could only hope that the Senate would agree to let the LF ships through.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Next chapter is back to Kira and Rodina. Heh. My writing streak is starting to die a little bit so the next chapter may not come out on the weekly basis I've been trying to write at. But hopefully it will. We'll see. Again, please review!


	13. Proof of Existence

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Thirteen - Proof of Existence_

**_Previously on Destiny Falling:_**

_"They'll probably want to kill Lacus then use the actress, Meer, to completely substitute her."_

_"Not quite, but very close Kira Yamato, Cagalli Yula Attha," Terazuma's voice from the door made them stare up in shock as the man stepped in and smiled down at them._

**Rodina, ****Siberia**

Kira immediately felt his hackles rise and he half stepped out of the bed, touching Cagalli on the shoulder before she gripped his arm, determined not to be separated from him again. He did not know if he was strong enough to stand up and defend against Terazuma or any of the guards, but he would be damned if he couldn't prevent them from taking Cagalli again.

"If you hurt Lacus..." the threat was empty and he knew it. He just had to say it because if he didn't he would feel like he had failed.

"False bravado will get you nowhere, though I suspect you know that by now," Terazuma stepped in, shaking his head, and what makes you think I would want to hurt Miss Clyne, your lady love? She is far more useful to me alive than dead.

He bristled at the comment and narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew Terazuma's remarks were trying to get riled up and off balance. Everything the man said and did was calculated. He had learned that upon first meeting him. That man was dangerous.

"What do you want? Why are you doing this?" Cagalli demanded.

"My dear Princess, have you not learned from your stay here? I would have thought that our chats would have been more productive," Terazuma feigned a look of hurt.

"Sorry, I would have been paying attention if you hadn't been drugging me up," his sister shot back and Kira felt a burst of anger fill him. Terazuma had did _what_ to Cagalli?! It was also then that he noticed small bruises lining the inside of her arms and wrists, some of it faded to yellow while others were just fading from red to purple. He was about to leap up and throttle the man when Cagalli placed a hand on his arm and shook her head minutely. "Kira, don't...it's not worth the aggravation."

"But he-"

"I know. I feel the exact same way, but we have to stick together," she whispered quietly and quickly to him.

"Hmm, role reversal. And here I thought you were the fiery one, not like your brother here who was quiet and shy for the most part," Terazuma snorted faintly, "how quaint."

"We have our moments," Cagalli shot back darkly, "why are you here, Terazuma? Do you like gloating over someone's sick bed?"

"I came to see if the two of you would like to meet the stars who are forging your new destiny," the man replied.

"Do we even have a choice?" Kira heard his sister mutter.

"My dear that is the importance of what I had been impressing upon you during your stay here. You always have a choice," Terazuma suddenly snapped his fingers and at least four guards swarmed into the room. Kira tensed as two of them pointed their machine guns at him and Cagalli while the other two approached them, arms outstretched, intent on restraining them.

He didn't dare move until the last second and with one hand shoved Cagalli off of the bed and onto the ground, his other hand coming up in a jab that struck one of the soldiers in the ribs. He kicked his feet outwards, feeling the adrenaline rush through him to give him support as both soldiers stumbled away from the bed and leapt off of it. For a split second, the ground felt cold and made his legs feel weak and rubbery, but he forced himself to stand and immediately spun, grabbing one of the soldiers gun by the barrel and shoved downward.

The force of his movement knocked the butt of the assault rifle into the mans chin, snapping it with a painful click before the man stumbled back into the machines, falling into them as his hands and feet got caught up in the wires and tubes. The subsequent tangling ripped the various patches and IV lines that had been stuck on his body away from him, making him hiss a bit in pain, but he ignored it as best as he could and focused his attention on the other guard that was holding the machine gun.

"Kira!" Cagalli's warning was all he got before he felt someone barrel into him, knocking him to the ground.

He grunted as his head slammed into the edge of the bed before his body hit the ground, sending shooting waves of pain throughout his body on his still-healing wounds. Through the blur from his vision, he saw long brown hair and fierce eyes before a fist slammed into cheek, snapping his head into the tiled ground. He saw stars and instinctively raised his hands to ward off another punch before Terazuma's command made everyone halt.

"Stop!"

The weight pressing on top of him hesitated and Kira got a brief glimpse of Shiho, Cagalli's bodyguard, sitting on top of him. Maybe he would have to test his theory earlier than he thought he would and suddenly heaved himself up, attempting to throw her off.

But it didn't work out like he had planned and instead, her hands were a blur and he suddenly found his arms pinned beneath him painfully, feeling his muscles and ligaments strain with the hold she had on him. He gritted his teeth and tried to work through the pain, but unbidden tears from the effort pricked at the corner of his eyes. Good God she was fast...no normal Natural could move like that...she had to be an Extended.

As he drew in ragged breaths, he saw Terazuma approach him, looming over him with a frown of disapproval on his face. He made a clucking noise like a father tsking a disobedient child. "Kira, Kira, Kira...what should we do with you? Here I offer a hand of friendship to you and the Princess and you reject it by being such a bad boy."

Kira glared at Terazuma before he was boldly lifted to his feet, arms still pinned painfully to his back. He saw that two of the four soldiers had recovered and were now pointing their guns at Cagalli, daring her to do something.

"Take them," Terazuma waved his hand and Kira was marched out along with Cagalli. They headed down towards a series of corridors, all of them looking exactly the same before stopping in front of a set of double doors. Terazuma stepped forward and swiped a card through a reader and the doors opened on their own accord.

Even though Shiho still kept a painful grip on his arms, he couldn't help but gasp at the sight that greeted him and Cagalli. The room they stepped into was not a room, but at least the size of a large auditorium. There were at least five domed pod-like things occupying the middle of the room, surrounded by monitors, generators, and workstations. Scientists dressed in lab coats fluttered around the area, occasionally checking into the pods while armed guards stood a perimeter outside of the area, their eyes watchful and careful.

He noticed that a couple of the pods were opened, revealing plush comforts, designed like a bed of sorts and wondered what they were used for. Two of the pods were most definitely occupied and it looked like the two men sleeping in there were at peace. What kind of research was Blue Cosmos conducting here?

His eyes caught sight of an area to the side of where the pods were an empty space that clearly had more than a few blood splatters on the ground. Shiho's forceful shove made him stumble a bit before he caught his feet and continued walking forward, noting that they were headed towards the blood splattered area.

"This is what I was telling you about, Princess. The future and hope for all Naturals and Coordinators," Terazuma started congenially, "here we research the ability to wipe away the unpleasant memories of war and bloodshed. We are able to turn our occupants into gentle people who want nothing but peace."

"Alexei?" a timid, tiny voice spoke up behind them and Kira turned as best as he could to see a young girl with short blonde hair and doe-like purple eyes staring at the group. She wore a spring-like blue dress and was staring at them with curiosity akin to a child.

"Ah, yes," Terazuma smiled and gestured to the girl, "this is Stellar Loussier, one of our most successful results. She came to us from Panama after the war and we've been helping her forget."

"She's a psychotic loose cannon, that's what she is. You didn't cure her at all. All you did was just program her so she can _die_," Cagalli suddenly shouted from where she was and Kira's eyes widened in surprise as the effect was instantaneous.

Stellar's eyes immediately widened in horror and she dropped soundlessly to the ground. Kira immediately felt the pressure released from his back before Shiho swept past him and instead, stood in front of Cagalli, watching the girl carefully with her sharp eyes. He was further confused when the guards, instead of pointing their guns at Cagalli and him, pointed their guns at the girl on the ground who was staring at the ground in horror.

"Stellar...don't want to die...I...Stellar...can't...die..." the hoarse whispers from her mouth were barely audible until suddenly an unexpected hand dropped onto her shoulder.

If Kira didn't know any better, he would have thought Athrun had arrived. But he knew that this was not Athrun...this was the doppelganger that his best friend had been talking about. He watched as Athrun's look-a-like knelt down next to Stellar without any hint of fear.

"Stellar, how will Shinn be able to protect you if you keep crying?" the look-a-likes voice was nothing like Athrun's and instead sounded more cultured and refined. There was even a hint of an upper-class accent.

"Shinn...protect,"Stellar whispered before suddenly straightening up and stood up, her eyes still red-rimmed from whatever tears she had shed, but she instead, now had a hardened look on her face. "Alexei, where is Shinn? I would like to see him," her voice was now cold and precise and Kira was shocked by the sudden change in demeanor and posture.

Terazuma just smiled and pointed towards one of the pods, "He will be waking up soon, Stellar. I am sure Dr. Francis and Dr. Oligav would be more than willing to let you stay by his side."

The blonde-haired girl just nodded before giving a glare to Shiho and Cagalli before heading over to one of the two occupied pods. Kira noticed that Shiho did not move from her protective spot until Stellar was talking to a woman standing by one of the pods.

"That's Dr. Madison Francis," Cagalli whispered and Kira wondered what his sister was talking about.

"Yes it is...you may have heard that her pharmaceutical company specializes in medicines for amnesiac patients and those with post traumatic stress disorder. She has been a great help to us in our research. And by the way, Princess, that was not nice of you to goad Stellar like that."

"You load trigger words into people like her and expect them to do your bidding. That's how you stole the Gundams from Armory One. That's how you operate," Cagalli shot back, "you don't cure war and bloodshed from people. You seek to enhance it and use whatever means to get what you want. People like that are unnatural, freaks.

"And Coordinators aren't?" Terazuma glanced at him and Kira narrowed his eyes; he had a bad feeling about this.

"Coordinators want peace. However, you and the rest of the Blue Cosmos seek to destroy that peace. You plan to use them and the Gundams you stole in your little war, don't you?"

Terazuma smiled wolfishly before tilting his head, "Whatever you may think Princess, but you, you have just given me the incentive I need."

"What?" his twin sister looked surprised and confused.

"Triton," Terazuma turned to address Athrun's doppelganger, "I trust you would think up a few lines to go with our Princess' lovely confession of the heart?"

"How would you like me to word it? Jilted lover or stoic soldier?" the doppelganger named Triton stepped forward with a grin that most certainly would never belong on Athrun's face. As he approached Cagalli the bad feeling that Kira had amplified and he was about to rush the man when a set of iron gripped hands held onto his arms and a gun was pointed at his face.

"What are you..." he could hear and see the fear in his sister's face.

"You bastard! Call him off!" he yelled at Terazuma who was smiling as he enjoyed the show.

"If you do anything to hurt her I'll-" Kira stopped mid-curse, his breath caught in his throat as he saw Triton close the gap between him and Cagalli and quickly kissed her on the lips. He watched her struggle futility as one of her arms was held fast by Shiho who looked like she could be carved out of ice for all that mattered, before a veil of anger covered his vision and he saw red.

Kira knew that his seed-mode enhanced all of his senses like a sixth sense, giving him an advantage in battle. But what he didn't know was what would happen when he was out of the cockpit. When he living at Copernicus City and later Heliopolis his parents had sent him to study and train in karate, mostly for self-defense and because he had a tendency to get into fights with others, especially when he was defending Athrun.

But all of the classes stopped when he took an interest in robotics and computer science after enrolling in the Technological College on Heliopolis. His recruitment and the action he saw during the Bloody Valentine War brought some of the basic defensive moves he had learned from long ago to help him pilot the Strike and the Freedom, but he had no real hand-to-hand combat experience. Hell, back then, he didn't even realize he had the safety on his gun on when he tried to help Mu La Flaga on Mendel.

But all of that didn't stop the red veil of anger and fury from falling over his eyes and his seed-mode activating itself before he turned and violently yanked his arm free from the grip of the guard that had been holding on him. Using his freed arm, he knifed the man in the groin and stomach, making him double over in pain. By then, he was moving towards Triton, feeling as if the world around him was moving oh-so-slowly. He saw the man's eyes widen a fraction in either surprise or shock, before he broke off the kiss and shoved Cagalli back to Shiho, his eyes now narrowed in anticipation.

However, just as Kira threw the first punch towards Triton's head, a lanky blur inserted itself in between him and Triton and blocked the punch by grabbing his fist. Kira looked up in surprise, his seed-mode fading away, as he saw the pinched angry face of a young man with black hair and deep red eyes glaring daggers at him.

"I cannot allow you to do that, Kira Yamato," his voice sounded mechanical, no hint of inflection nor any human qualities. If he didn't know better, he would have thought the teenager was a robot. It was only the deep-seeded anger he saw in the red eyes that told him he was human.

"Shinn!" Stellar's half-whisper half-shout identified his attacker and he realized that this was the same Shinn that had attacked him in the Impulse, the same Shinn that Stellar seemed to hold a torch for, and the same Shinn that had been resting in one of those pods. He was the ZAFT pilot that had been captured along with him and brought here to Blue Cosmos' base.

"Kira!" his sister's exclamation of his name did nothing to distract him, but as he stared at Shinn, a feeling of unease filled him. He didn't know what skills Triton had, but the man was probably either a Natural or an Extended. However, in Shinn's case...Shinn was most definitely a Coordinator like him, and a red-coat pilot. If Athrun was a good indication of what kind of training ZAFT Elites went through then Shinn had an advantage over him in hand-to-hand combat.

The extraordinary grip on his wrist tightened and Kira resisted the urge to wince as he could feel minor splinters running through his bones. He knew that the odds were against him and logic told him that he should bide his time. If he fought Shinn, then there was the possibility that he would come out somewhat injured. He needed to be hale and healthy in order to break Cagalli free from whatever cell she was in and to get the two of them to safety.

"Shinn! That is not who you are looking for," Terazuma suddenly spoke up in a calm manner and the pressure on Kira's hand was released.

He absently shook his hand out, feeling twinges of lingering pain from the small fractures he had received as he saw Shinn stand up and look ahead blankly, like a robot with no programmable orders. It was unnerving to see nothing in the ZAFT pilots eyes whereas moments ago there was so much anger in them.

"Stellar, please take Shinn back to his room," Terazuma directed the young blonde-haired girl and Kira watched as she took Shinn's hand and guided him out of the room, the pilots gait a bit wooden. It was also then that the rest of the guards formed up around him, their guns pointed at him, daring him to attack Athrun's doppelganger again.

He noticed that the doppelganger named Triton looked impassive, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings of mild shock.

"I'm truly sorry Kira, but I did not realize that Shinn Asuka would attack you on sight," Terazuma turned his attention towards him and Kira frowned. He knew the man was lying.

"The only reason why Shinn would attack me on sight is because someone told him that I was the pilot of the Freedom," he replied before glancing at Triton, and I'm willing to bet that you had a hand in that.

"Really?" Triton smiled nastily at him, "dear me..."

"Otherwise his first plan instinct would have been to escape, especially since he's a Coordinator in a Blue Cosmos facility and all of you are Blue Cosmos," Kira continued.

Terazuma laughed lightly before giving him a measured look, "I don't understand why you would imply that Shinn would attack you on sight. You really think you're that important as the pilot of the Freedom? The Freedom is nothing but a Gundam, a disposable part that can be easily replaced."

Kira understood the veiled threat behind Terazuma's words that he too was replaceable, but he had a feeling that Terazuma's words were only meant to scare him. If he was expendable, then he would have been killed and perhaps someone more important like Athrun would have been taken. After all, he was not even part of ZAFT nor within their database. For all intents and purposes, if Blue Cosmos really wanted someone important, then they would take a well-known high-profiled Gundam pilot like Yzak or Athrun. He was just a simple bodyguard and Morganroete technician.

It was then that he realized something...Terazuma was scared of him. Not of what he could do or what he couldn't do, but of his unofficial title as the Ultimate Coordinator. He was afraid of what the Ultimate Coordinator really meant. The best of the best...and it also somehow reassured him in a twisted way that he wasn't going to die any time soon. They could hurt him all they wanted, but Terazuma wanted him alive. The only problem now was to get Cagalli out of here so that if he was left behind, there was nothing Terazuma could bargain with him.

Terazuma couldn't threaten the lives of Lacus or Athrun because they were out of his reach. He was mostly sure that Triton was the pilot of the Dendrobium, and definitely not a clone of his best friend, but was probably either an Extended or a Coordinator, given his reflexes. If Triton was a fellow Coordinator, and he was in Blue Cosmos territory, then they were in serious trouble...the word 'genocide' usually didn't pop into his head, but Kira had a nasty feeling that it was what he was witnessing.

"I knew what I heard during the battle for Berlin. Shinn has a grudge against the Freedom," he slowly stood up, spreading his hands out to show the guards that he wasn't going to attack them anymore, "I can guess that it probably has something to do with the Bloody Valentine War, so your lies are nothing to me."

"If I mention that I could have easily manipulated him to attack your sister, she would be dead by now," Terazuma ignored the barely restrained growl of indignant from Cagalli, "but as you said, Shinn Asuka does have a grudge against you, but also against Orb, his homeland."

"What?!" this time Cagalli looked shocked and even Shiho her bodyguard looked surprised as well as a few guards and Triton.

"Don't be surprised Princess. Not every citizen of every nation is content with their leaders decisions or with the state of the country itself. Sure your countrymen fought hard and many died in defense against OMNI's brutal attack during the war three years ago, but not everyone was pleased with the fact that your father destroyed the mass driver and his ruling council."

"Are you saying Shinn's family is one of them?"

"Family?" Terazuma's smile was a bit predatory, "if you really must know, Kira here killed them during the defense of Orb."

Kira immediately protested, "I didn't kill-" He paused as he realized what he was saying. It was true that he avoided killing any pilots in the mobile suit cockpits, but could he really say he hadn't killed anyone when the disabled suits fell to the ground? After all, there were ground personnel still directing the evacuation at the time of the Battle for Orb. One of the mobile suits that he had disabled could have fallen to the ground and crushed people.

Perhaps one of the people could have been Shinn's parents or even his family...

"Kira, listen to me, you didn't kill anyone. Period," Cagalli's voice broke through his thoughts and he glanced at her. He wanted to believe his sister's words; wanted to embrace them and never let them go, but he had to admit, even with his promise to Lacus to change the war, and his own vow never to kill anyone in the cockpit, there was still the collateral damage from his actions towards anyone who was on the ground during Earth-based combat. He had first seen that when the _Archangel_ had been fighting against Andrew Waltfield in the desert. The Desert Dawn group suffered heavy casualties, many through the misstep of having mobile suits crush them or even a stray missile hit their vehicles.

"But if you're really wondering about Shinn's family, then you don't have to worry about them. We're his family now and like family do, we'll take good care of him."

"Yeah right," Cagalli snorted disdainfully, "you'll kill him after you learn how you've manipulated Coordinators to do your bidding."

"No, actually we won't. We don't know how to manipulate Coordinators as of right now," Terazuma looked pleased about something.

"But Shinn-"

"Is someone we've been looking for, for a long time. Actually we were looking for his mother, Varie Asuka, nee Kamiya, but since she is dead," Shinn would have to do.

Both Kira and Cagalli stared at him, confused before he gave a little shrug of indifference. It's really simple if you look at it closely, he started in a simple tone, Shinn isn't a Coordinator.

"But-"

Terazuma held up a hand to stop Cagalli's protest, "He may look like one, act like one, and certainly have the genetic markers of one, but he is in fact, one-hundred percent a Natural."

"No Natural moves like that," Kira knew there was something terrible and foreboding about this conversation.

"Yes, no Natural moves like that. Shinn Asuka is, however, one of our first compatriots..."

"He's an Extended?!"

"The very first one we had ever tested our technology on."

* * *

**Onogoro ****Island****, Orb**

Kanoko didn't bother glancing up from her desk as the door to her lab slid open and closed with a gentle hiss. There were only two people that walked in unannounced and one of them was already in the lab with her, studying some of the other samples she had been experimenting on. "He's reacting better to the medication treatment we're having him on," she addressed Canard while marking down a result from a vial she held in her hand.

There was a discernible grunt of acknowledgment to her words before she felt his presence brush past her and head into the isolation room next to her workstation. She glanced up and saw him sit down next to Prayer's bed, keeping a watch on the young man. Prayer had been in and out of her lab for the past day for a few hours of treatment to keep his condition stabilized. This was one of his last treatment sessions before he was to return to the pill format, but Kanoko had made sure that Prayer knew that his this particular treatment session enabled him not to be taking the pill for the next few days.

"Not very sociable, is he?" Keiji commented, bringing her gaze on him and he gave her a crooked smile.

"He's serious, that's all," she replied, "besides, I think he's been digesting the information overload he's gotten in the past day. It tends to make people a bit quiet."

"How are you holding up, Kano?" Keiji asked and she shook her head.

"The Council's been hounding me to find a cure, but there are so many variables. At least the Earth Senate approved Lacus' request without too much trouble, so hopefully the task force will be able to find something within the labs at Rodina..."

She noticed her husband's expression change when she mentioned Rodina, "What is it Keiji?"

"That's what I kinda wanted to talk to you about..."

Kanoko had a bad feeling that she wasn't going to like what she was going to hear, yet she had a feeling of what her husband was going to say." You want to go, don't you?"

"I've been talking with Admiral Ramius and she agrees with me that it be best if someone who was familiar with your work be the one pulling information out instead of a regular soldier," he suddenly held up a hand to stop her from saying anything, "I know you wanted to go, since you would know what the lab looked like, but you're not trained to infiltrate or extract information."

"This isn't like Mendel," she stared at him.

"No, it isn't. It's different and there will definitely be more hostiles on the ground instead of Sven Anderson's Talon. You're needed back here to help your co-workers find a cure. You're needed here to reassure the populace that something is being done to find a cure. If you get killed while we're assaulting Rodina, then who else has the extensive knowledge that you have about the cure?"

"The others-"

"I'm willing to be that they don't know as much as you do, do they? I'm willing to bet that you didn't tell them about part of the virus being what you've researched at Mendel."

Kanoko fell silent, knowing her husband was telling the truth. "Then at least let Athrun know-"

"Lieutenant Commander Zala isn't participating in the operation," Canard's voice made the two of them look up to see him standing by Prayer's door, "he informed Admiral Ramius of the change in plans this morning."

"What?!" Kanoko wondered what could have happened overnight that would have pulled Athrun from the mission. He had originally been tasked with leading the infiltration unit into Rodina to rescue Kira and Cagalli. Kanoko was going to ask to join his team along with Ledonil Kisaka to break away and grab the necessary information from a computer terminal within Rodina.

"Chairman Dullindal wants him to return to the PLANTs along with the _Minerva_ for a refit and dissemination of information," the dark-haired man said.

"Dissemination of information?" Kanoko was confused by the terminology.

"He says Dullindal thinks that Kira, the Princess, and the ZAFT pilot Shinn Asuka could be held in another facility other than Rodina. It seems that the Chairman's intelligence told him that Rodina is nothing more than a small Siberian town and that they could be held at the remnants of JOSH-A."

"Of course Rodina's made to look like a small town. The facility is well camouflaged and some of it is underground! Hold on..." Kanoko frowned before glancing up at Canard, "did you say Shinn Asuka?"

"Yes..." he looked at her warily, "He was the ZAFT red-coat who piloted the Impulse."

"It's probably nothing," Kanoko waved his concerns away, "I'm just thinking..."

Canard looked like he was going to say more when a soft murmur from Prayer's room made him turn his head slightly before he nodded at them and headed back into the room, leaving the two of them in relative silence.

"You're holding secrets from me again," Kanoko winced a bit as she heard the warning tone in Keiji's voice.

Glancing down at her papers, she nodded, "I know..." She took a deep breath and composed herself before looking up at her husband, "Keiji, do you remember after we moved to Heliopolis from Copernicus City that I received a very odd call?"

"I remember you getting several odd calls. Some of them from Kira's friends who were trying to prank call the house."

"No...this one was a long distance one, from Orb," Kanoko saw the recognition light up in his eyes.

"This was from the woman who said her name was Varie Asuka and if you recognized her. I faintly remember that she wanted your help with something, but you refused. I definitely do remember you saying that if she called you again, you would set Uzumi on her and have her arrested and incarcerated. You think this Shinn Asuka is related to her? Maybe her son? Honey, there could be more than one Asuka family in Orb!"

"I know, but..." she suddenly got an idea and turned back to her computer, bringing up a hidden program and started to type. She barely heard her husband get out of his seat and come over to peer over her shoulder as she hacked into the ZAFT military database. She made sure to cover her tracks before ZAFT or PLANT could accuse Orb of spying, and finally brought up Shinn's file, noting that some of his background information was classified.

"That's odd...if he graduated just a few months ago, he shouldn't have so many classified markers on him," Keiji spoke over her should and she absently nodded, distracted by the picture of the young man in question.

She realized with a start that she knew him...not personally, but familial; he looked so much like _her_...

And there was no doubt in her mind about Shinn Asuka. He could be the key to the whole thing.

"Keiji, if you really are going, you must also rescue Shinn."

"Why?"

"Because if my hunch is right, then he could be the key to this virus."

"The cure?"

"No...something worst, if my hunch is correct."

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

Cagalli and Kiras part delayed me in posting this chapter. I seriously was considering going one way and then they wanted to go another way. We finally compromised when I promised Kira that I wouldnt let him get beaten up. Cagalli had to butt her head in and demand that she be the stronger twin so I acquiesced to her request, then decided to make it with my own evil twist. As you can see, Shinn is definitely not the Shinn Asuka of _GSD_. He is my own version of who Shinn should really be. I hope you guys like him!!


	14. Divided Loyalties

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Fourteen – Divided Loyalties_

**Onogoro Island, Orb**

Athrun took his time walking through the main hanger of Morganroete where hundreds of technicians and mechanics were running around, prepping the mobile suits for what Admiral Ramius had dubbed Operation Rodina. The world media was also having a field day, dubbing the LF offensive as Operation Joshua.

They had only done so after "information" was leaked to the media to divert any Blue Cosmos attention to the fact that a taskforce was going to assault Rodina. The information leaked in a way that the media was completely fooled and hopefully it would make Blue Cosmos think that they were sending troops to the radioactive remnants of JOSH-A. Luckily, they had some intelligence, both courtesy of OMNI and of Chairman Dullindal that the remnant JOSH-A did harbor some Blue Cosmos activity.

Still, he was angry that Dullindal would not allow him to participate in the Operation and had recalled him and the _Minerva_ back to Aprilius One. Even Murrue had balked at the order and had considered overruling Dullindal's orders since she was his commanding officer, but he had informed her that as soon as he got to Aprilius One he was going to resign from FAITH and hop a ride on the _Eternal_ to take the upgraded Justice back to Rodina to join in the battle. The _Eternal_ had successfully completed its upgrade late last night and was set to head up into orbit once more, this time with Lacus at the helm. The _Eternal_ was originally built for space combat, not land and Lacus said that she needed to meet with Yzak aboard the _Voltaire_.

He finally spotted the person he was looking for and held up a hand in greeting as he walked over. "Canard," he greeted the man with a nod before glancing down at the other young man standing next to him, holding a datapad with their Gundams' specs on it. "Prayer, you feeling better?"

"Much better, thank you for asking," Prayer replied, giving him a grin, "I'll leave you two alone. Thanks for helping me double check the calculations Canard."

The older man made a noise of agreement before Prayer walked away towards his Dreadnought Zero. Athrun had noted that whenever Prayer was involved, Canard didn't really talk too much and he had a feeling that the two had a long history between them, judging by the way Canard reacted to Prayer's appearance on the battlefield in Berlin.

"You ready?" he asked the man then realized that it was probably a stupid question to ask. Canard was a trained infiltrator, one of the best of OMNI Black Ops. Unlike Keiji Yamato, he was well versed in the latest techniques and probably had his own contacts within OMNI that he would be able to exploit. Getting in and out of a Blue Cosmos facility was his forte.

"Honestly...no," the answer surprised him and he stared at the man, a bit shocked.

"This was your mission, Zala, not mine," Canard continued and Athrun knew what he was talking about. After he had told Murrue the news, she had immediately wondered who was going to replace him as team leader until he had suggested Canard be the one. It took a bit of persuasion from her part to convince both George, the _ReHOME's_ captain, and Canard to lead the mission in his stead. "The men don't know me. They know you..."

"They're loyal and will get the job done. Wolf, the sniper of your team, was in Mendel when we went after Sven Anderson. Desert was also on that team, and if you have any doubts about Desert, ask Captain Waltfield before the _Eternal_ leaves. He can tell you about DaCosta," he said.

"I know, but I'm willing to bet that right now, you want to go AWOL like you did back in the war. And that's what's bothering me the most," Canard replied.

"What, the fact that I went AWOL or the fact that I want to go AWOL?" Athrun was confused.

Canard shrugged and he finally got what the man was hinting at. It was the same dilemma he was facing. How did they both restrain themselves to not go spare over how they will find Kira and Cagalli? Except it seemed to Canard that he was having a better grip over his emotional state than the older man was. Athrun realized that Canard originally wanted to be on the team, not as a leader, but as a fellow soldier. He did not want the burden of command, to make the harsh decision of sacrificing a teammate or even declaring that in the allotted time that if they couldn't find Kira or Cagalli to leave.

Some might have called him a coward for ducking away from his responsibilities as a leader and commander, but Athrun knew that it was too personal for Canard to be called a coward. He was afraid...

"You'll find them," he clapped a hand on Canard's shoulder and was mildly surprised that the man was letting him do so, seemingly avoiding contact whenever possible. If Canard was allowing him to touch him in reassurance, it meant that the man was really scared. "No matter what, I think you'll do what I do in that situation."

"What?"

"Tear the place apart with my bare hands until I find them."

Canard snorted a soft laugh before nodding, "And give them Hell while we're there."

Athrun only grinned in return.

* * *

**Near the Debris Belt, 16 hours after launch from Kaguya Mass Driver**

Lunamaria Hawke knew it was pilots' taboo to stare at the missing spot of a mobile suit destroyed in battle, hearing the tales of how it would bring the pilot staring bad luck and misfortune in his or her next battle, but she didn't care. She kept staring at the spot where Shinn's Impulse usually sat. She knew that he was alive when he was kidnapped by the mobile armor, but she did not know if he was alive now… There were rumors circulating that the people that had captured him and the pilot of the Freedom were Blue Cosmos.

That thought scared her. She had heard horrible stories about Coordinators who had ended up in the unfortunate hands of the fanatical group; of how they were brutally tortured, water boarded, mutilated until they were begging to be killed and the puritanical group had obliged.

Now the _Minerva _and her crew were pulled off of the mission to go rescue Shinn, the pilot of the Freedom, and Princess Cagalli and it had filled her with despair. She wanted to rescue Shinn, wanted to reassure herself that he was all right, he was still alive. But orders were orders, and she was definitely too scared to contemplate going AWOL. Besides, she didn't know even if she deserted her post and went crawling to Admiral Ramius that the woman would even allow her to participate in the upcoming Operation.

She had heard rumors about Ramius, how she had supposedly killed the political officer aboard the _Archangel _and had incited a revolt within the ship when it was defending JOSH-A before fleeing the battlefield with the pilot who had stolen the Freedom. She had never believed the rumors that it was Lacus Clyne who had stolen the Freedom and given it to the mysterious pilot. Rather she believed that the pilot had held the pink-haired pop singer hostage and demanded access to the Freedom.

It was a wonder that Lacus Clyne was still working with the Liberation Forces in her opinion. Lunamaria believed that Lacus was enforcing a Coordinator presence within the LF to keep the Orb-controlled army from getting out of hand and attacking the PLANTs. It was the only logical explanation she could come up with. She knew that her belief in what Lacus was doing was held by many of the other soldiers in ZAFT and also most of the general populace of the PLANTs.

At least she had the dashing and handsome Athrun Zala to protect her from whatever Ramius or any Natural who planned to influence her. Luna had to admit, she was enthralled at Athrun's presence when he first arrived and declared that he was part of FAITH. But she had quickly realized that he was very distant with them, even though he was prone to occasional outbursts. But that was to be expected, after all, he was a man who could lead and when things did not go his way, he let it be known.

However, when he had tried to stop Shinn from attacking the Freedom, she had her illusions about him shattered. Shinn had completely destroyed the Savior, proving that while Athrun may have the reputation of a fearsome pilot, he was still only human. And humans made mistakes. Athrun had made the mistake of trying to protect the traitorous pilot of the Freedom, probably some stupid Natural, and had attacked Shinn.

She could only speculate why Shinn had ruthlessly attacked the Freedom and had wondered if he was on orders from some ZAFT official to recover or destroy the rogue mobile suit, but had quickly dismissed the idea in favor of a new one. Shinn was from Orb and the Freedom had been at Orb when it was attacked by the Earth Alliance. Perhaps the Freedom had a hand in the death of Shinn's whole family while in Orb? If so, Luna understood all too well Shinn's feeling towards the Freedom.

She had experienced something similar once before, when her little sister Meyrin had applied and got into the ZAFT Academy. The upperclassmen were always constantly hazing the new class, Luna had experienced it during her time in the Academy, and with Meyrin and her class, it was no different; except one of the upperclassmen had taken it a little too far with her little sister.

Luna knew that the particular upperclassman in question had lusted after her for a while now and had turned his attentions on Meyrin when she entered the Academy. After that particular incident, her once normally bubbly, cheerful sister had become quiet, reclusive, and seemingly cold. Luna had been unable to save her sister in time and had watched her "die" in an essence. She was still a great officer and communications specialist, but she had become different.

So she felt for Shinn and wanted to comfort the pain so visible in his eyes even three years after the war, to make sure that he moved on instead of lingering and wallowing in what could have been. She didn't know if she loved him, but she knew that she felt some sort of affection for him. He was her anchor, whether or not he knew it, but she clung to him because she couldn't face the problems of her own life and of her failure to protect Meyrin.

And now…he had been captured, possibly executed, and Chairman Dullindal wouldn't let them do a damn thing about it. He had to recall the _Minerva_ and deny them the chance to rescue Shinn. Crew morale was low and while Shinn didn't know it, he brought a sort of intensity to the _Minerva_, an electrifying presence that boosted how the crew responded in battles and sorties.

She couldn't even imagine how her fellow pilot and mobile suit squadron leader; Rey Za Burrell was feeling at this moment. Even though Rey prided himself on never and rarely showing emotions in public, she knew him well enough from their Academy days that Rey bonded with Shinn. The two were the best of friends even though they had almost completely opposite personalities.

She _had_ hoped Rey would be able to convince Chairman Dullindal to rescind the order and let the _Minerva_ participate in the LF's operation, but Rey hadn't said a thing. She knew Rey looked up to Dullindal like an adopted father of sorts after his own father Rau Le Creuset had died in the Battle for Jachin Due. She didn't know the connection between the Chairman and the legendary Le Creuset, but she _had_ hoped Rey would be able to influence him.

Luna sighed softly before glancing to her left as booted feet echoed their tap closer to her. She instinctively stiffened and threw a salute to Athrun as he returned the salute then waved her to an at ease position.

"Sir," she greeted him, noting that the corners of his eyes were pinched, angry and tense. "I thought you would be on the _Eternal_ with your fiancée," if there was one person she knew that could at least ease the tension and anger out of him, it had to be Lacus Clyne. The two of them…they were such a cute couple in her opinion whenever they went out in public.

""We'll be rendezvousing with Captain Joule's ships soon," he replied, "my place is here on the _Minerva_."

_Ouch_, Luna understood the dismissal of her seemingly innocent question and just nodded congenially, hoping that she didn't prickle Athrun's anger any more. It was clear that he was really angry with the Chairman's decision before a curious thought occurred to her. "Sir…may I speak off the record?"

She noticed his shift in posture before he glanced down at her, "Sure. And by the way, you don't have to keep saying 'sir' anymore. Contrary to popular belief, I'm only just a Lieutenant Commander. And I'm sorry if I seem standoffish right now…"

Luna grinned, "No worries, sir, I mean, Athrun. Is it all right-"

"Luna, what is it?"

"I understand the burning need to rescue Princess Cagalli, after all, she is the head of state, but, I sense that there's something more than that, but maybe not about Shinn…"

She saw the corners of his lips tighten for a few seconds before he sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair. Somehow, he looked more tired and exhausted than she had ever seen him and realized that her question had broken through a barrier that he had kept up so well. "I failed…"

"Athrun-"

"I failed to protect the Princess. She was my charge," he looked exhausted, "and I failed in my other mission. I can't tell you about that, but it's something I take very personally.

"Most of all, I should have known."

"No one could have known that the Dendrobium would show up. I mean, that's the stuff of legends!"

Athrun gave her a wan smile, "There's something you'll learn during your time with ZAFT, hell with any military organization, and even a legend can be defeated. I should have anticipated that Blue Cosmos would have something up their sleeves when we defended Berlin.

"You're still new and fresh to battle, so it would be easy for you to bathe in the awe of something so legendary. But once you've seen the horrors of war, and the horrors of death, you'll realize that everything will die."

"That's…depressing," Luna didn't like the dead expression on Athrun's face.

"It is," Athrun continued, "but then there comes a time when you realize, you want to protect everything around you so that you can postpone death. So each failure to me, it's like watching one of my friends die over and over again. It's not something I want to face."

"Athrun…was it from the Bloody Valentine War that you experienced this?"

He snorted softly and stared down at the ground for a few seconds before glancing up at the empty space of the Impulse's berth, "Yeah…" His eyes were distant, as if focused on a long forgotten memory before he glanced at her again. "Chairman Dullindal doesn't understand what soldiers face out here. He doesn't understand the need to save every life because that's what it is. Life is precious."

"But we're soldiers. We're trained to kill."

"Only when it is necessary. The Bloody Valentine War drove everyone into a blood-feeding frenzy. We came out of it realizing that we were no better than killers and murderers. That is why the Liberation Forces was created, to temper the sword of bloodlust and to save lives. That is why the Chairman doesn't understand it…he's from a scientist background, not a military background."

"But…"

"I know. My father was ZAFT before he was part of the Council. He nearly led the PLANTs into destroying themselves. I'm not saying military commanders should be the Supreme Chairman of PLANT, but neither should scientists who don't know how precious life is out there."

"Are you saying that there should be a vote of no confidence against Chairman Dullindal?"

"No," the wan smile was back, "I'm saying that after we reach Aprilius One, it will be an honor to have served with you, Lunamaria Hawke."

"You're resigning?! From FAITH?!"

"So I can do my job," the wan smile disappeared and in place was a grim look, "so I can save the lives of those who are important to me."

"Sir!" Luna realized the importance of his declaration and immediately stood at attention, her boot heels clicking together before she threw the crispest salute she had ever managed. Her heart soared at the news…if there was one person that would be able to save Shinn, then she would put all of her trust to Athrun Zala.

* * *

**Aprilius One, PLANT**

"You've made good time here, Triton."

"I trust that you and your other self have been in communication."

"Of course, such is the nature of our perfection."

"May I ask why I was sent up here? Your clone wasn't too forthcoming with the information while I was chatting with him during the ride."

"All in good time, Triton, all in good time. I just need you here for insurance purposes."

"Expecting the worst when _he_ returns?"

"I anticipate every problem that may arise…"

"Ah…I see…"

"By the way, we have the footage edited together. You should see it…it is your best work yet."

"As an actor to his director, you flatter me."

"We expect great things out of you, Triton."

"I always aim to please…"

* * *

**On board the **_**Eternal**_**; rendezvous point with the **_**Voltaire**_** and **_**Rousseau**_

With the addition of Yzak Joule's ships, the _Voltaire_ and _Rousseau_, the four-ship convoy continued its course to Aprilius One, albeit at a slow burn since the _Minerva_ was still half repaired from her sortie in Berlin and had developed a problem with one of her engines when they had gotten past the Debris Belt. It would take another two to three hours to reach Aprilius One at the speed they were going, which gave Lacus plenty of time to talk to her faithful faction agent.

When she had last talked to Yzak, he had sounded worried and frustrated something that she had rarely seen in the man ever since he had joined the LF under her faction. She knew that he wanted to talk with her, especially since it could be concerning Rodina or his agent within Rodina. The polite knock at her cabin's door made her glance up from the latest requisition forms she had been reading and she smiled slightly, "Enter."

The door hissed open and Yzak stepped through, nodding to her before stepping in, "I trust your journey here was well?"

Lacus nodded, "It was well, please, sit down Yzak." Ever since Yzak had joined the Clyne Faction, she had never once seen him greet her in the fashion most would, only with the barest of nods, an unusual deference to her that made her appreciate her most valuable agent even more. She knew that even Athrun had never glimpsed this side of the man who had been considered a cold-hearted man within the Le Creuset Group.

"I sensed you had some concerns when I asked you to relay the coordinates of Rodina to me?"

"I believe you are taking this mission too personally," she knew Yzak was always blunt, especially since she wasn't formally military, but rather a civilian, but even she couldn't control the impulse to flinch at his harsh words. He was also one of the few people outside the inner circle who knew of Kira's designation as the Ultimate Coordinator, though not his origins, and knew of her relationship with Kira.

Kira's capture by Blue Cosmos had devastated her in ways that no one, not even Athrun, knew of the extent. She had felt as if a light within her had been snuffed out and it took all of her willpower to not let it show neither on her face nor in her emotions. She had retreated into the persona of a calm commander and leader to urge the Senate to agree with their idea of attacking Rodina. She knew she had to be strong for both Cagalli and for Kira. She had to keep the LF functioning, even though Murrue Ramius was now technically the head of the Liberation Forces.

But she also knew that many perceived her as the co-head when Cagalli was around and so they looked to her for their next move. She had to be strong for the sake of the LF and strong in front of the media who constantly scrutinized her every move. Only Kira knew of the extent of the tabloids and more unsavory aspects of the entertainment media that hounded her whenever she stepped out into the public. It was mostly due to her status as a pop-icon, but even the tabloids occasionally knew when to back off when she was being a politician. That was at least a saving grace.

But ever since the doctored videos appeared, she had constant requests from various media outlets, including ESNN, one of the biggest media giants in the Earth Sphere, asking her for an interview to explain the video. She knew that she would have to address it eventually otherwise analysts and journalistic opinion would rue the day and possibly tarnish her reputation. She couldn't let that happen, especially since Cagalli was still missing.

"You think that my relationship with Kira Yamato is interfering with my judgment of the situation, right?"

"Yes ma'am," Yzak was never one to mince on words and spoke his mind, something Lacus always found refreshing.

"Why?"

Yzak frowned slightly before covering his mouth to smother a cough, "I don't know if you want me to answer-"

"I do, Yzak. Believe me, I value your input and would like to know why you think I am endangering the mission or the rest of the Liberation Forces by going after Kira Yamato and Princess Cagalli," she held up a hand to interrupt whatever he was going to say.

"Yamato is a valuable and highly skilled pilot, but he is not a trained soldier. He has already shown great disregard to orders that he does not find to be within his moral rules. In any other person, civilian or soldier, this is a valued quality, but during war-time and when lives are at stake, this is a quality that cannot be overlooked. There are times when orders must be obeyed, even though they may make no sense, because it will save more lives than destroy it.

"By giving up the Freedom and cutting himself off from contact with it, he should have been immediately ordered to stand down or at least defend the ships instead of going on a half-baked mission to deposit a nuclear core into the Tegeler See."

"You're forgetting that he saved all of those civilians and perhaps millions of others by depositing the nuclear core into the See," Lacus pointed out.

"Commendable, but my question is, how is he the only one to notice the nuclear core? The Astrays were near the _ReHOME_ and their sensors didn't go off until Yamato brought it out in the Freedom. Why is that?"

Lacus only raised an eyebrow, prodding him to continue his thought.

"I am not supporting any conspiracy theories regarding him and the Freedom, but I did receive a disturbing report from my agent before you requested that the LF storm Rodina. She had said that the head of that branch of Blue Cosmos, a man named Samael, knows a lot about the inner workings of the LF. This is why I was hesitant to contact my agent."

"You think there's a spy within the LF?" Lacus asked.

"Maybe, I don't know, but if there is, they are pretty high up on the command chain. You told me yourself, that most enemies and fires we put out, the Freedom and Justice are seen as combatants. Why would Blue Cosmos attempt to capture the Freedom, unless they know who is the pilot?" Yzak rarely looked stressed, but covering a hasty cough, he looked at her with something akin to worry in his eyes.

"For all we could know, Blue Cosmos could have thought a Natural was piloting the Freedom. After all, it did join up with the forces in Alaska during the Battle for JOSH-A in the war," she reminded him.

Yzak gave a small shrug before looking away, "I talked to my agent, and there is a good chance they know Yamato is a Coordinator and want to experiment on him."

Lacus sucked in a quick breath of fear before steeling herself to remain calm. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"There wasn't time and I only found this out when I asked my agent to reveal the location of Rodina," Yzak replied before tapping his FAITH pin. It only took a second for her to get the message and her frown became even more pronounced. Yzak was being watched by Chairman Dullindal and the other members of the PLANT Council. It meant that they didn't trust him. But the person in the most danger on the ship was Dearka, having already been perceived a traitor by his fellow Coordinators.

But why would Dullindal have a reason not to trust Yzak? No, it wasn't the fact that Yzak was being watched, rather it was that Yzak had been asked to play a more active role in FAITH – which meant Dullindal wanted a bigger presence within the Liberation Forces. He wanted to know the plans for the LF to go into Rodina...and perhaps other things too. Her conversation with Athrun had revealed the Dullindal believed Blue Cosmos to be based in the radioactive remnants of JOSH-A, not in some small town, but was curious as to why the LF didn't heed his recommendations.

Chairman Dullindal wanted Yzak to be a source of information for him and that there would be some consequences if he didn't cooperate; mostly on Yzak's best friend Dearka. It was the same way Athrun was recruited into FAITH...blackmail.

"Athrun..." she murmured quietly, finally understanding the danger.

"What about him?" the white-haired man asked.

"He was ordered back with the _Minerva_ for an upgrade, but he plans to submit his resignation to Chairman Dullindal so he can go back to help with the assault on Rodina. That's one of the reasons why I decided to meet you up here. The _Eternal_ is carrying the Infinite Justice for him."

"You think he's headed for a trap?"

"Yes," she pursed her lips together, "I do not know what game the Chairman is playing at, but what I could gather from my conversation with him, he was blackmailed into joining FAITH."

"And with that tarnish on his record, especially stealing and going AWOL with the Justice in the war, there are still those in the government and ZAFT who want his head, and also for him to stand trial in place of his father's actions...this is bad..." Yzak usually never stated the obvious, but he looked down, brows furrowing. "I can send in a couple of my officers-"

"No, you need to maintain your loyalty. You need to be the ace in the hole," she interrupted him, "I'll go in and claim diplomatic immunity. He wouldn't dare do anything to me due to public perception."

"Miss Lacus..."

She gave him a brave smile, "Thank you for your concern, Yzak, but this is something that I have to do." Reaching out, she touched him gently on the shoulder before heading out the door and onto the bridge of the _Eternal_.

* * *

**Aprilius One, PLANT**

Stepping off a warship always got stares, no matter what port you hailed from, Athrun decided as he walked down the gangplank and into the main hall. Wearing a FAITH pin on top of that definitely got you stares. Having the face of a person who was considered a traitor three years ago got open jaws along with stares. He suppressed a sigh of exasperation as he knew that this was the last time he was going to face this; inwardly, he was glad.

Even though he had already told Captain Ramius and Ensign Hawke of his intentions, he had made them promise not to tell anyone else in case word got out. It wouldn't add to his already storied reputation that he was going to resign from FAITH just because he needed his freedom back to do what he knew was right instead of being hampered by politics and red tape.

As he headed deeper into the port and onto a direct lift to take him to the PLANT Supreme Council office suites where the Chairman held his office, he had to admit, he missed the scenery and beautiful landscape within the PLANTs. Even though he had the rare chances to accompany Lacus to PLANT for her diplomatic tours, he had mostly avoided it because he didn't know what kind of reaction he would receive from his fellow countrymen. PLANT and especially Aprilius One, was known for its peaceful scenery and vivid flora and fauna, even though it was completely enclosed in a space colony capsule. He believed that the cultivation of its greenery was one of the best scientific discoveries and also allowed people to relax whenever the stresses of life were too much. Sadly, the flora and fauna didn't mask the scenes of battle during the war...

The lift pinged to a stop, doors opening and Athrun stepped out, headed directly to the Chairman's office. He saluted the armed guards outside the door before knocking on the door. "Athrun Zala reporting as ordered."

"Come in," Dullindal's muffled voice came through and he opened the door and stepped in.

The same set of monitors behind Dullindal blazed various news footage and the occasional security footage outside the PLANTs and Athrun saw that more than one of the news footage was blaring news about the LF's plan for Operation Joshua and analysts waving their hands madly to emphasize their points. A few were even running footage of the Earth Senate meeting where Lacus had set forth her proposal while others were running footage of the most recent Battle for Berlin.

"Sir," he saluted Dullindal before approaching his desk and stood at ease in front of it.

"I am surprised that the Liberation Forces did not heed my warning," Dullindal shook his head and indicated the news screens behind him, "I do understand that this is a ruse...JOSH-A is not really the intended target, is it?"

"I am not at liberty to confirm or deny that sir," Athrun replied diplomatically.

"Well said," the older man smiled congenially at him, "but I am glad you're back. I have some information for you that may help in your search for the Princess-"

"Sir, before that, I must say I have appreciated your help, but I believe the information we have received will point me in the direction of the Princess," he interrupted the Chairman, steeling himself for what was inevitable. A part of him realized that it was harder than he thought, to resign from the military organization that had essentially been his home for a majority of his life. But he remained resolute; the LF and Orb was his home now. There was nothing else up here for him...

"Athrun?"

"I am resigning my commission within ZAFT and FAITH effective immediately," he declared, standing ramrod straight and staring at a point beyond Dullindal's head.

Dullindal stared at him for a few minutes, eyes betraying nothing before he gave a quiet sigh and shuffled a few papers on his desk. "You really believe the Princess is in Rodina, don't you?"

"Yes sir," he replied.

"And nothing I say or do can dissuade you from that?"

"No sir."

"Not even the doctored footage I intercepted?"

"You and I know that the footage is a fake and I believe you will destroy it," Athrun replied.

"Are you sure?"

There was something about Dullindal's tone that Athrun didn't like and he relaxed fractionally from his 'at attention' posture to glance at the Chairman and saw some unknown emotion glinting in the man's eyes. "Sir?" A feeling of uneasiness wormed its way through his stomach...

"I'm sorry Athrun, I really have no choice now. It is completely out of my hands..."

The uneasiness in him exploded into outright panic as the doors surrounding the room hissed open and he was filled with a sense of deja vu. Soldiers poured in from the hidden doors and surrounded him, guns pointed at him.

"This was my only chance to spare you from what the more militant members of the Council wanted when you first arrived," Dullindal looked at him sadly, but Athrun saw no sadness in those orange eyes of his, "but since you have resigned from FAITH and from ZAFT and claim no other diplomatic immunity, we have to arrest you on the charges of treason."

"What?! But I claim Liberation Forces-"

"You are not part of an entourage, Athrun, you can't claim any diplomatic immunity," Dullindal stared at him, "Guards, place Athrun Zala under arrest. Mr. Zala, you are hereby charged with treason and stealing of state and military secrets during wartime. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of your peers. You have the right to counsel. Do you understand these charges and your rights?"

Athrun felt his arms being wrenched behind him as he stared blankly at Dullindal's desk. This was not happening...this couldn't happen. He was supposed to resign and walk out. He was supposed to get the Infinite Justice and go rescue Kira and Cagalli. He was... Despair filled him as he realized the magnitude of the truth...he had been played from the start and he glared up angrily at Dullindal. The day that Dullindal had saved him was the day that he had roped himself into this...and the man wanted nothing more than to put him up in front of the rest of PLANT as a sacrifice and to show PLANTs' military might.

A small movement beyond the older man caught his eyes and they widened fractionally as he saw a swish of blue hair and a green eye in the shadows of one of the doors, staring at him. The doppelganger...what was he doing there?! He glanced to Dullindal who only smiled fractionally at him, but this time, the smile was a lot more malicious. Was Dullindal behind Cagalli kidnapping? Was he part of Blue Cosmos? Or was it even Blue Cosmos that attacked them?

The forceful tugging on his arms startled him out of his thoughts as the guards dragged him away from the room and into the main hallway, eliciting gasps of surprise from the other Council members that happened to be in the hallway and various personnel working in Aprilius One. But Athrun neither heard nor saw any of it as his thoughts had numbed over with shock...

Was Dullindal behind all of this?

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I was at an anime convention this past Memorial weekend and ended up buying a Perfect Grade 1/60 Wing Zero Custom to build which totally inspired me to finish this chapter that had been dragging a bit. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! Next up is Operation Rodina!!


	15. Operation Rodina

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Fifteen – Operation Rodina_

**Near Rodina, Earth**

Canard Pars let the bitter wind of the Russian north bite into his face as he stood on one of the outside platforms below the bridge of the _Archangel_. His fur-lined parka protected the rest of his head and body, but the biting cold at least gave him a sense of relief and somewhat calmed his nerves. He would never admit it out loud, but he was nervous and scared. It had been a while since he had commanded a unit to infiltrate and extract from an enemy stronghold and while he did not doubt his abilities, he did doubt his own heart. He doubted what he was going to find, what he didn't want to find, and whether or not he could give the order to retreat should they encounter heavy resistance and couldn't reach either Kira or Cagalli.

Glancing once more out at the white landscape and blowing snow, he shook his head, attempting to clear the demons from his mind and ducked back into the hatch; pulling the heavy door behind him and locking it with the wheel. He headed towards his own bunk a few floors down and was surprised to see Prayer standing outside his door, knocking on it.

"Prayer?" he spoke up, startling the young man who grinned at him sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were out," he replied.

"Had to get some fresh air," Canard shrugged, "what's up?"

Prayer's grin faltered a bit, "Bad news just came from PLANT. Athrun's been arrested and charged with treason due to his actions in the Bloody Valentine War."

"What?!" Canard dropped his jacket in his room before closing the door once more and the two of them headed towards the bridge for a final briefing by Admiral Ramius.

"I know. According to Admiral Ramius, he was going to turn in his resignation to ZAFT and FAITH so he could join us down here," Prayer explained, "I don't know what happened, but the Admiral says that Miss Lacus is attempting to handle it."

"That's still a lot of bureaucratic red tape they have to go through," Canard wondered what could have gone wrong with just turning in a simple resignation. When he resigned from OMNI, they had him sign confidentiality papers and even had tails on him to make sure he wasn't spilling any wartime secrets, but when he had joined up with the Junk Guild, he had ditched the tails and hadn't seen them since.

"I may have to modify the aerial battle plan," Prayer murmured mostly to himself, having been designated the mobile suit group leader for the Operation. They had been counting on Athrun and the Justice to help them in the battle, but with this news, he was probably not an option.

When they arrived at the bridge, Canard wasn't surprised to see Ramius talking with Lacus Clyne. She was also talking to another person with sharp white hair and a jagged scar across his face. He wasn't too familiar with him, but he did know his name, Yzak Joule, one of the most loyal officers ZAFT had. Joule's mother Ezalia had been a Patrick Zala supporter, and while acquitted herself during her trial, her son had proven himself a loyal ZAFT soldier with nothing to do with Zala's influence during the Battle for Jachin Due.

He had heard rumors that Joule was one of the best infiltrators in the LF and reported directly and only to Lacus. How he toed the fine line of between serving two different masters was beyond him, but apparently the rumors were true.

"-am in agreement with Captain Joule, Lacus. Even with diplomatic immunity, you said so yourself that Dullindal may not be trusted. For all we know, PLANT could turn against the LF and declare war," Ramius was saying as they headed towards her. Canard acknowledged the rest of his team standing by the bridge's viewports, watching the conversation with some curiosity. The only member of the team with an intense look was Kira's adoptive father Keiji. Next to him was Ledonil Kisaka, staring at the communication screens with an impassive look.

To Keiji and Kanoko Yamato, Athrun was a dear and close friend of Kira's. Almost like a second son. He didn't know the details, but he had heard that Athrun and Kira were childhood friends. It had made him envious that Kira had such a gentle childhood while his was so tough, but he understood the gravity of the situation. Besides being an important figure to Kira and the others, Athrun was also a very important figure within the Liberation Forces. With the recent crisis and the LF stretched so thin, now having Athrun out of the picture made everyone nervous.

"My men can get him out of there without any problems. The only issue is that if they suspect it is you who initiated the jailbreak, you would lose your credibility with PLANT and probably have your title stripped," Yzak explained, "that's where I come in. I will need DaCosta's help though, is he there, Admiral?"

"Yes," Ramius nodded, "however, I must caution that before you execute the plan to at least let me look it over. If what you said about Dullindal is true, then we will need to move carefully and quickly."

"Yes sir," Joule saluted before terminating the line and Lacus only nodded once before closing her end.

Ramius rubbed her temples for a second before glancing at all of them, "Thank you for coming. Since we were relying on Lieutenant Commander Zala's help, we will need to adjust the plan in light of the recent crisis. Lieutenant Reverie will still be leading our mobile suit wing and Ensign Ren and his team will be taking Athrun's place during the battle."

"Yes sir," Prayer nodded before glancing at his second-in-command, a fresh faced young man who also nodded. Canard noted that Ensign Ren looked like he had seen too much in too little time and wondered what his story was...he definitely had the look of a soldier who had killed.

"Specialist Pars," Ramius addressed him and he instinctively straightened. When he had joined the LF for this mission he had declined a rank and instead opted to just name himself as a Specialist. He didn't plan on hanging around the LF for too long after Kira and Cagalli were rescued. It brought back too many old memories, most of them bad.

"Has your team been briefed? We do not know the strength of Blue Cosmos' forces, but the order to retreat takes top priority," Ramius said in a calm and controlled voice.

Canard nodded, glancing at the rest of his team, scattered around the bridge. Keiji caught his eye and nodded his assent. Between the two of them, they would not hesitate to tear Rodina apart to look for Kira and Cagalli, but they also knew that if they were compromised in any way, the order to retreat came first. Lacus had made it clear that she did not want anyone from the LF left behind if they needed to withdraw.

"Captains, any thing you wish to address at this time?" she glanced up at the four other captains of the LF fleet that had accompanied the _Archangel_ for Operation Rodina. The crews on the other ships were also tuned into the fleet-wide broadcast. Everyone knew what was at stake and while most did not know that Kira was the pilot of the Freedom, they had been informed that Princess Cagalli was the main target of the operation.

Of the four captains, only Quinn Misali of the Kusanagi knew that Kira was the other priority target besides Cagalli.

"No sir," the other captains replied.

"Very well," Ramius drew herself up and stared at all of them, "I know these few weeks have been trying on all of you, especially for those with family members who have fallen ill with the plague; but I ask that you give each other your strength to see this Operation through. Though our priority is the rescue of Princess Cagalli, we will also take the opportunity to strike at Blue Cosmos who has hurt us all. Remember what you have seen in Berlin, what you have seen in New York City, in Tokyo, Kaoshung, Mumbai, London, and all around the world.

"The people suffering from Blue Cosmos' actions need our help. We will strike a decisive blow to this group that only knows hate and chaos because it is our will and our duty. We will find the source to this plague and we will eradicate it. We will not fail in our mission."

Silence reigned in the wake of her speech as everyone looked grim. There was no applause to be expected nor did Canard know Ramius wanted one. Rousing speeches and applause were to be given if a victory speech was given and this was no victory speech. This was a reminder of what they were fighting for and what the Liberation Forces stood for – to prevent fires like Blue Cosmos from getting completely out of control.

"Dismissed," Ramius said and Canard instinctively clipped his heels together and saluted along with the others on the bridge and on the communication screens. Ramius returned the salute before everyone headed out of the bridge.

Canard noticed that Martin DaCosta, or Desert as he was known on his team, had stayed behind to contact Captain Joule. "Akuma," he glanced at Keiji Yamato who had fallen in step next to him, "tell the others I want them geared up and ready to go in half an hour."

"As ordered," Keiji fell back to tell the others of the team as Canard turned a few corners and headed back to his bunk. He would have stopped and talked with Prayer, but he knew that he needed some time alone before the start of the mission. He was returning to the battlefield, to the profession he had sworn never to go back again and God help the enemy when he came upon them, he would kill anyone who stood in his way.

* * *

**Rodina, Siberia**

The warning klaxons of incoming missiles and enemy forces blared in the vast underground complex of Rodina, but to Dullindal, he didn't care for any of that. He pressed a button on a small communications screen and the image of one of his commanders popped up. "Sir! We are reporting at least five warships including the _Archangel_ on approach to the town."

"Have they spotted anything amiss?"

"No sir, but we think they attempting to send in ground troops. Shall I scramble our forces?"

"Please do so…Commander and while you're at it, please sortie our newest recruit also. It would be a good time to test his abilities. Do not worry about the ground troops, I will handle that matter personally," he replied and was about to switch frequencies when a thought occurred to him, "Commander, please inform Dr. Francis and Dr. Oligav I would like to begin testing on our guest of honor."

"Sir?" the soldier looked confused.

"Just inform them, Commander. They will know what to do."

"Yes sir," the officer saluted him before he switched frequencies and smiled as a blond-haired man's youthful face appeared on the screen.

"Sir, how may I help?"

"Has the Serpent automation unit proven successful?"

"Yes sir. Elias was able to copy it successfully into my Gundam."

"Then I would like you to refrain from piloting the Stargazer II for now and instead use your abilities to stop the infiltrators from getting in."

"Sir, if it is a question about my abilities-"

"No, no," he smiled, "I would just like to prevent something unpleasant from happening if you should pilot the Stargazer II."

"Sir?" the blond-haired man looked confused before his eyes widened as he finally understood. "Oh…_he's_ here, isn't he?"

"That is what my source said. He had appeared in Berlin and was assigned to the Archangel, so I wouldn't like you to enter the fray without compromising yourself."

"Ah, understood sir. And thank you sir."

"No problem at all. Would you need any other help at all?"

"Sir, may I assign Stellar to help me with this also? I believe the benefits would be two-fold."

"How so?" he glanced at the blond-haired man, puzzled.

"Your counterpart, sir, he noted that Stellar and the one called Shinn Asuka have a close relationship in the time she was assigned to watch over him. If Stellar stays here in the base, it would ensure if anything unforeseen happened to Shinn Asuka that he would be cooperative to our needs. Plus, she is the best of all of us at getting rid of infiltrators."

"Very astute," Dullindal had forgotten that part of the report that he had read from Terazuma, "very well, you have my permission."

"Thank you sir," the youthful face lit up in a predatory grin.

"Oh, Taelon," he addressed the blond-haired man again, "I do not tolerate failure."

"Understood."

* * *

"Dreadnought Zero, Prayer Reverie, launching!"

The g-forces pushed Prayer against his restraints as he launched from the _Archangel_ and out into the open, snowy battlefield. His HUD immediately lit up in a myriad of bright colors, half of them in red indicating enemies, the other half in blue indicating allies. He noted that Serpent units and Strike Daggers were launching from the various underground shelters surrounding Rodina and some even from the houses that resided directly over the hidden base.

So the information they had received from the doppelganger that looked like Athrun was correct, it looked like Rodina was a haven for Blue Cosmos. He knew that it still did not mean that either Kira or Cagalli were at the base, but it was most definitely a stronghold for Blue Cosmos.

He just hoped that the Dendrobium Orchis wasn't here…otherwise they would be in deep trouble.

He aimed his beam rifle and fired into the nearest Serpent unit, blowing its head off before targeting its arms and legs in three quick shots. The unit fell to the ground unmoving and shot forward, adjusting his verniers as the other mobile suit pilots flew out of their respective ships and formed up into small wings of threes and fours.

He noticed his second-in-command Ensign Taylor Ren shooting out of the launch bay of the _Archangel_, his distinctively black-red Astray standing out in the whiteness of the battlefield. "Ren, wide right, sweep," he called over the comm. to him and saw him wave his beam rifle once before taking some of the other Astrays towards where the _Kusanagi_ and _Siren_ were.

The _Kusanagi_ had just gotten barely repaired and Murrue had reluctantly allowed Captain Misali to join the fleet on the condition that it was the rear guard and the ship where the Astrays were to go if they needed emergency repairs and the other ships weren't able to take them on. Prayer had no doubt that Murrue had also given specific orders to Captain Misali to retreat if it looked like the LF offensive was going to fail.

"Blue Three, Blue Seven, take your wings and follow me in. Pick the stragglers," he targeted a group of Serpents that were tromping through the small town. Quickly typing a series of commands, he activated the neural interface that he had installed in the Dreadnought a while ago, able to augment and enhance the DRAGOON system he already had. The system had a name given to it long ago, but Prayer did not really know the history or its long-forgotten name.

He could _feel_ the DRAGOONs responding to his increased mental commands and launched all four of them towards the Serpents. He fired into the cluster of Serpents and scored hits over their bodies, making the units scatter. Beams from the other four Astrays that had been following him cut down the scattered units before he targeted another cluster of units and blasted at least four heads off.

He swept low to the ground, spraying some snow into his view screens which immediately melted from the heat his Gundam was exuding and brought up his shield to block a few shots by the other Serpents who finally realized what was going on. His DRAGOONs suddenly formed a shield around the Astray of Blue Four that hadn't pulled up in time and had fallen to the ground, protecting it from the Serpents who fired missiles towards it.

"Blue Four, status?" he asked, landing on the ground, holstering his rifle and instead drew out his beam saber.

"I'm okay sir, the snow..." a young voice replied back.

"Stay close, Blue Four, can't have you die here," he gave a small grin before charging the Serpents. Out of the corner of his eye as he cut down one unit, he noticed that there were quite a few civilians running from their homes as the town of Rodina became a battlefield and sent his DRAGOONs to make sure at least the civilians he could see weren't injured by any stray fire or missiles flying towards him and the other Astrays.

He wanted to take the battle to the air where there was less chance of casualty and also away from Rodina, but it seemed that the Serpents and Strike Daggers were determined to stay entrenched within Rodina. "Admiral Ramius!" he patched a call to the _Archangel_, "there are civilians still in the town. Be advised, civilians have not been evacuated."

"Understood," Ramius' slightly stressed reply came back before she cut the comm. off.

He noticed that all of the LF ships, instead of firing into the numerous Blue Cosmos units on the ground were now attempting to lure them out into the sky in order to avoid casualties and frowned. He had a nasty feeling that none of the civilians knew that Blue Cosmos was right underneath them and instead lead peaceful innocent lives. A sick swooping feeling filled him and he grimaced against the bile that threatened to overwhelm him. It would be just like a group that held no qualms about the lives of others to do such a thing and use innocents as human shields.

A sudden beeping alerted him of incoming missiles and he was about to leap up into the sky to avoid them when another beeping caught his eye and he noticed that a woman holding her child had taken shelter behind one of his legs, too scared to move in the direction away from battle. Cursing silently, he held out his shield and called his DRAGOONs to protect his lower body just as the missiles impacted the area.

Prayer involuntarily cried out as the missiles rocked the Dreadnought around and he felt sparks crawl up and down his arms as a few of his electrical systems overloaded from the impact and a few extraneous shrapnel popped out from the circuit board and embedded themselves into his arms and body.

"Sir!" the static-filled voice of his second-in-command barked out at him and he groggily lifted his head up. He glanced down at the screen that showed the woman and child and breathed a quick sigh of relief. They were still alive, albeit completely terrified at what had just happened.

"I'm all right!" he shouted back, before he finally noticed what happened around him. Blue Three and Blue Seven were nothing more than twisted metal hulks near him, while Blue Four and Eight, their wingmen had suffered severe damage. Each one of them had been protecting civilians too terrified to move or to escape. "No..." he breathed in horror.

"Look out!" Taylor's shout startled him and he glanced up to see a Serpent-no definitely not a Serpent unit, but a deadly looking unit that he immediately recognized as the stolen Chaos Gundam angling down towards him with its double beam sabers.

Prayer brought out his beam saber and knew that he was too late to do anything when he instinctively reacted with his mind. His DRAGOONs, severely damaged in preventing the missiles from impacting the civilians, lifted themselves up and fired all four beams into a concentrated beam towards the Chaos, knocking its beam saber just aside and it rolled to the ground before getting up.

"You're good," an unfamiliar voice popped over his comm. system and he realized it was the pilot of the Chaos.

Prayer gritted his teeth and didn't even bother to reply back. He glanced down at the woman and child still huddled next to his feet and turned on his external speakers. "Escape now, while there is still time!"

The woman looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise before she mutely nodded and grabbed her child's hand and fled down towards the others. Turning back to the Chaos, he noted that the battlefield had two other Gundams join in the fray, one of them the stolen Abyss, the other he didn't recognize, but it was identified as the Destiny. The Destiny in particular looked fierce and was harassing the _Archangel_ and other fleet ships while the Abyss had engaged in a one-on-one battle with Taylor's Astray.

"Don't be looking at others, you should be thinking of yourself!" the pilot sneered over the open channel before swiping at him with one of his beam sabers to which Prayer blocked with his shield.

He pushed back against the blow and concentrated on all of the data flowing from the enhanced system to his mind. Even though his DRAGOONs were nearly useless, he still benefited from the unnamed system and its data. He retracted the DRAGOONs and leapt towards the Chaos, beam saber drawn. He ducked underneath a few missiles launched from the Gundam and slashed downwards in a feint before drawing the saber across. The Chaos parried his blow before lashing out with its machine guns.

Prayer flinched as the bullets peppered his Gundam, but noted that they didn't do too much damage and instead his eyes sought out the main source of the attack and brought both of his arms up to block the scissor attack. His left arm crackled and hissed from both the falling snow which had turned into blizzard-like conditions and from deflecting one of the two beam sabers. Pushing against the beam saber with his right arm, he suddenly broke the stalemate and kicked with his leg, sending the Chaos reeling.

"You're really good..." the pilot's voice crackled over the comm., "but I bet I'm better."

Prayer didn't reply as he set his jaw and held his beam saber in a defensive position. Whoever the pilot was of the Chaos, he knew that the man was trying to get a reaction out of him, but he was too experienced, too inundated with the memories of his maker, to let such taunting provoke him. He knew he wasn't the best, that title belonged to Kira, Athrun, and even Canard, but he sure as hell would act like he was the best, drawing upon the memories he had within him of his maker, Mu La Flaga.

His only hope would be to dispatch the Chaos as quickly as possible and help Taylor and the ships defend against the combined assault of the Abyss and Destiny. "Show me what you've got..." he whispered.

* * *

Cagalli knew something was wrong when the walls shook almost imperceptibly. The second time the walls shook, she was already out of her bed, senses on full alert. Something was happening...

Her door suddenly hissed open and she nearly jumped in surprise before seeing that it was only Shiho, who had an expressionless face as she marched in. "What's-" she never got to finish her sentence before her guard grabbed her wrist in a pincher-like grip and started to drag her out of her room.

"Hey!" Cagalli tried to dig her heels in to stop Shiho from dragging her out, "what the hell?!"

Shiho barely glanced back at her, but her frozen-like eyes glared down at her, "Be quiet."

"No I won't be quiet!" Cagalli tried to wrench the arm off of her wrist but to no avail.

"If you want to live, be quiet," Shiho shot back, pausing for a second on the threshold of her door to look around. Cagalli opened her mouth to continue to protest when she finally noticed that the taller girl was looking up and down the halls with a cautious eye as a few more rumbles shook the compound. Just what the hell was going on?

"We're under attack, aren't we?" it finally hit her what those rumbles were. She had been thinking that it was a ground quake of sorts, but these rumbles weren't the usual quakes she felt while she had been growing up in Orb. "And now, I bet Terazuma wants to evacuate and both Kira and I are going to be taken with him."

Shiho snorted before shaking her head, "Princess, you are full of delusions." She suddenly started moving again and Cagalli barely repressed a squawk of surprise as they moved down the hall.

"Well, I'm not-"

"Shh!" Shiho suddenly released her hand and she nearly crashed into her back before backing up. "Princess...please go the other way. When you come to a fork, take a right and it will lead you to one of the egresses."

"What?!"

"Do it!" the urgency in Shiho's voice startled Cagalli before she looked beyond the brown-haired girl to see Stellar, standing in the middle of the hallway, her purple eyes devoid of any sign of life. This was the assassin Stellar that Cagalli had come to recognize during her stay here. "Two houses away from the egress holds a signal flare, some ammunition, and winter gear. Use that to signal the _Archangel_."

"The _Archangel_..." Cagalli stared at the back of Shiho's head, shocked. It was then that she realized that Shiho was not really an Extended nor a Natural, but a Coordinator who had infiltrated the most anti-Coordinator group in the whole Earth Sphere and kept her cover for so long even while protecting her... "Shiho..."

"Princess," Shiho suddenly took something out of her jacket and handed it to her and she stared at the small metal object in her hands. A part of her realized it was Shiho's dog tags...ZAFT-issued dog tags. "Please give those to my superior officer, Yzak Joule when you next meet him."

"But..."

"Go! I will get your brother out!" Shiho suddenly shoved her backwards before charging at Stellar. Cagalli watched as their battle start, a mess of blurs before she forced her feet to turn and ran in the direction that her bodyguard had indicated to freedom. She felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she understood that the brown-haired girl was sacrificing her own life so that she could escape.

She found the egress in short order and was about to climb the ladder up when the blaring of distant alarms made her pause and glance back at where the cell corridors had lit up in flashing red. Biting the bottom of her lip, Cagalli knew that meant more guards were on their way and at that rate, would definitely overwhelm Shiho no matter how strong she was. Gritting her teeth, she tightened her grip on the bars of the ladder for a few seconds before a cry of frustration emerged from her lips.

She let go of the bar and dropped to the ground once more before running back towards where she had last seen Shiho and Stellar. Sacrifice be damned, she wasn't going to let anyone die for her, no matter who she was. Shiho would not die in vain battling some floozy Extended in this sick madhouse of Terazuma's.

* * *

Canard pressed his back against one of the cool metal walls of the underground bunker and peered through the small telescoping binoculars he had on him. It was small enough to be concealed upon his person and also able to extend to see around corners. Seeing no enemies in the next corridor, he compacted the binoculars together and shoved it into one of his pockets before gesturing to the rest of his teammates to continue forward.

As soon as they had infiltrated the underground compound in the midst of the fierce battle outside, they had split into two teams. Keiji led the second team along with Ledonil Kisaka to retrieve Kanoko's files from the computer database while he was leading the team to find the whereabouts of Kira and Cagalli. Fox who had taken point sudden held up a fist, stopping all of them and they melted into the shadows, senses wary for anyone in the halls.

So far they had not encountered any resistance, which was both good and bad in his opinion. Good because it made their lives easier and there was less chance of detection if there was no report of weapons fire in areas. Bad, because he almost expected resistance, especially since the multitude of Serpent and Strike Dagger units that poured out of Rodina was so numerous to the point where Canard wondered if Prayer and the other mobile suits and ships could handle that sheer amount.

Fox held up two fingers before gesturing that the guards were on opposite sides. Canard tapped Caster's helmet twice before gesturing upwards. The first thing one of his teammates did when they had split into two teams was the sniper of the team, Wolf, had taken her own route, above them, but always following them. He suspected that she had studied the blue prints they were able to get and worked her way into the piping system. He tapped the radio earpiece twice to signal his intent to Wolf before tapping it another three times for her to pick her target.

Glancing over at Desert who was covering Fox, he nodded and Desert tapped Fox's helmet to relay his intent. As soon as the message was passed, Canard stepped out of his hiding place just as the first crack of Wolf's sniper rifle echoed its loud report in the silent halls. The guard on the left fell to the ground in a messy spray of blood and even before the second guard had registered what had happened he was charging the man and leapt up into the air.

He grabbed onto the man's chin and twisted it sharply, breaking the man's neck immediately as the body fell to the ground and flopped once before lying still. Canard immediately held up his sub machine gun for any sign of any other guards but saw none. "Clear," Wolf's whisper echoed in his earpiece and he nodded before gesturing for the rest of the team to come out of hiding.

"Bodies?" Desert asked as he and Caster stripped the bodies of their ammo.

"Leave them," he replied before bringing out his datapad with the blueprints on them and noted that they were close to the cell blocks where he hoped Kira and Cagalli were held. "Fox you're with me, Caster you're with Desert. There are two rows of cell blocks beyond two corridors. We'll take left, you take right. Wolf, eyes on."

The single click over the comm. told him that Wolf had heard what her orders were and was already on her way. They split up and headed down the corridors, Canard's ears perking up as he heard two distant reports of Wolf's sniper rifle indicating that she had found more guards, but had dispatched them. He didn't know how long before an alarm was sounded, but he knew that the increase in guards, meant that they wouldn't be hidden any longer.

"Sir...how do we know which one belongs to the Princess?" Fox whispered over the comm. as they jogged down the corridor, passing many rooms.

"Simple," he replied before slapping a small button that was barely visible next to a door. Suddenly what was once a blank wall next to the door materialized into a one-way window that showed a comfortable and furnished room, not at all like a cell prison.

"Sir that's-"

The wail of alarms suddenly pierced the air and Canard shrugged, "That's what happens when you're not an authorized person looking through the looking glass. Come on!"

They hurried down the corridor, Canard hitting the buttons on the various cell doors, trying to find any sign of Kira or Cagalli. His stomach soured as he heard the distant sounds of machine gun fire and knew that both Desert and Caster had ran into trouble even before Desert's breathless voice came over the comm. "Sir! We found the Princess – shit, get to cover!"

"Do you need back up?!" he touched his ear as he continued to run.

"Negative... we--" Desert's comm. fizzled into static for a few seconds before his frantic voice returned, "situation."

"Repeat, Desert, repeat!" Canard narrowed his eyes, the sounds of gunfire coming closer.

"Sir!" Fox suddenly barreled into him and he fell to the ground just as the air around them filled with bullets. Canard instinctively rolled to his side and raked his machine gun across the area, making the guards that had tried to ambush them duck and shout some of them wailing in pain as his and Fox's bullets hit them. He then got to his feet and grabbed onto the back of Fox's vest and hauled him along as they ran back the way they had come from, trying to find some kind of shelter.

Fox turned slightly and fired a few random shots to deter their pursuers as they ducked into another hallway. Canard didn't know where they were going and instead, ran on instinct before he crashed into a set of double doors. He felt Fox stumbled after him before glancing up...and froze.

The area they had stumbled in was spacious and pod-like things were in the middle of it, surrounded by computer monitors that pulsated a myriad of colors. He could barely just see the outline of someone in one of the pods, apparently unconscious and warily approached it.

"Ah, I wouldn't, Canard Pars," a new voice froze him to the spot and he looked around, gun pointed to the shadows, feeling Fox press his back against his own, the two of them wary for an ambush. He also noted that the gunfire that had been chasing them had died, leaving them in silence. A bad feeling worked its way up his gut...the guns had herded them into a trap.

The tapping of feet coming towards them made him shoulder his gun and point it at a particular mass of shadows before he fired a few rounds into where he thought the person was walking from. He heard them ping off of something metallic just as a darkly handsome man with long black hair and eyes covered by large shades walked out from the shadows, a smile on his face.

He was about to fire again when Fox's strangled voice made him glance back just in time to get a spur of blood across his face as his partner's neck was sliced wide open before he fell to the ground in a boneless choking heap. The frenzied half gasps of Fox's dying breaths filled Canard's ears, but he was already moving, seeing a flash of a blade out of the corner of his eye and brought up his gun just as a knife's blade was aimed at his throat.

"Meer," was the only thing the man said before the blade impacted against the barrel of his gun and he looked down to see a petite young woman who looked eerily like Lacus, staring back up at him with vacant expressionless eyes.

"As ordered, my Lord," the girl gave him a measured look before backing away, ignoring Fox's last gasp of effort before he finally died at their feet.

Canard narrowed his eyes as he watched the pink-haired assassin walk towards the man, stopping briefly to accept an affectionate hand on her pale cheeks before standing a bit behind him, staring at the ground demurely. She looked a lot like Lacus, but there were imperfections, not quite noticeable at first glance, but if one kept staring at her enough, they definitely showed.

"Ah, I wouldn't advise, shooting, Canard," he was about to bring up his gun again before the man shook his head just as the girl, Meer, also stepped up towards him. Canard lowered his gun slightly, finger still on the trigger. He had no doubts that Meer would be able to match him in a fight; after all, if he had not noticed the blade aimed at his throat, he would have shared the same fate as Fox right now. Plus he had no doubts that there were probably snipers or other troops within the room, all hidden in the shadows, ready to fire on this man's command.

"Are you Samael, the one responsible for Princess Cagalli, the pilot of the Freedom, and the pilot of the Impulse's capture?" he asked. His mind screamed that he should know this man, who was very familiar, but somehow he couldn't draw up any names or faces.

"I am surprised you do not recognize me, Canard..."

"Answer the question!"

"After all...it has been sixteen years, hasn't it, Experiment 086-EEX, code named Canard," the man smiled and Canard immediately lifted his gun and pointed it at his smiling face.

"How do you know that?!" the bad feeling he had turned into outright dread. If this man knew he was from Mendel...if he was part of Blue Cosmos...if... The implications of what the man had said shot like lightning through his mind. He, Kira, and even Cagalli were in deep, deep trouble.

"I'm deeply hurt, Canard, after all, it's not polite to point a gun at the man who saved your life 19 years before that..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

And the Operation continues in the next chapter…and Canard's problems continue to mount. As mentioned in _Astray X_ manga, I did make Dullindal the one who set him on the path of self destruction and the urge to surpass Kira Yamato. But I also added a twist, I made Dullindal Canard's savior back at the early days of Mendel. The plot thickens!

I hope you, the readers, have been noticing that my version of _GSD_ is more politically and situation influenced than what _GSD_ had. I like making things harder for characters to cope and just to see how much they could take before they reach their breaking point. I also hope that you like how I've changed a majority of the GSD characters…especially Meer, Shinn, Meyrin, and the others. Athrun also now has much more of a valid reason (well, can blackmail be considered valid) to join and quit FAITH/ZAFT.

I enjoyed writing this part as it has been a while since I've written a mobile suit battle and an infiltration part in the same chapter. Thanks goes out to my beta reader Algae09! Thanks for staying with this fic! Looking forward to seeing you guys in the next chapter!


	16. Essential Priorities

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

_Phase Sixteen – Essential Priorities_

**Rodina, Siberia**

Keiji Yamato, codenamed Akuma, ran down the darkened hall with light, quick steps. Flanking him was Ledonil Kisaka and a young marine by the name of Amy Lopez, codenamed Wave. Their sniper, Malcolm Tatarsky, Pointer, was somewhere above them, scouting out the route ahead. Together, the four of them made up Team Beta of the extraction team, but no one was involved in finding Cagalli or Kira. Their job was to get the information that Kanoko needed to find the cure to the plague and if necessary, destroy any and all records of Kira or Cagalli that may link them to Mendel.

Keiji had been surprised that Ledonil had requested a transfer to the Liberation Forces from Orb Home Defense, but realized that the only other person than his wife who knew everything about Mendel was Cagalli's ex-bodyguard.

Kanoko had provided both Alpha, Canard's team, and Beta teams a detailed map of what she had remembered during her time in Rodina and so far, it looked like the map was quite accurate for something that old. He had been very surprised that Kanoko was able to remember such detailed plans after so long, but had realized that his wife remembered a lot of small details in her storied life. He had wanted to comfort her, but also knew from long experience that she would not accept any type of comfort. She was a soldier of her own kind, determined to right the wrongs of her past and things she thought were her mistakes. It was that fiery determination that had ultimately won him over and made the decision for him to abandon his mission and resign from OMNI Black Ops.

Though he couldn't exactly say he resigned. It was more the fact that he went MIA during his mission and changed his last name to avoid detection when he married Kanoko. That was one secret he was determined that no one, not even Kanoko or Kira, would find out – he would take it to his grave. The only one who had any inkling was Quinn Misali, but during their launch from Panama to Mendel a year ago, he had wrangled a promise from his ex-teammate.

"The next door should be her former office," Ledonil whispered quietly next to him before he stopped and sighted down the darkened hall for any signs of civilian scientists or soldiers milling about. He was surprised that they had not encountered a single person or resistance ever since Alpha and Beta squads had split up. He did hear the occasional thumps, some of them heavy and close by of the battle raging above ground and hoped that the LF ships were all right.

Surprisingly, he had not been too shocked by the news that Athrun had been arrested pending charges of desertion in wartime. He had tried to caution the young man not to make any rash decisions, but also knew that Athrun was an adult and so had to sometimes learn life's lessons the hard way. It was definitely a blow, but he had expected that Chairman Dullindal or even the PLANT Supreme Council wanted some form of justice done, especially since Athrun was such a popular figure.

He just hoped Lacus would be able to work out something to let Athrun off the hook to help them defeat Blue Cosmos. The young woman had a gift with words and had a gift of bringing the gentleness out of everyone, especially Kira. The grip he had on his assault rifle shook minutely as he thought of his son, held somewhere, he hoped, in this facility. He hoped Canard was able to find and rescue him.

Seeing no sign of any enemy, he lowered his rifle and quickly hacked into the panel, forcing the door open a bit. Wedging his hand in between the crack he forced the door open and Wave pointed her gun and flashlight in the door, sweeping back and forth for any signs of cameras or guards. Finding none, she nodded her assent before he and Ledonil headed in, noting the amount of dust that had been sitting on the computers and desks in the office.

Wave meanwhile, took up a post just outside the door; she and Pointer alert for any enemies headed their way. Meanwhile, Keiji detached the light from his assault rifle and swept it over the dusty room. It looked like it hadn't been used in a long time and Keiji coughed slightly as he wiped a small layer of dust away from an old terminal before sitting down on the chair. Ledonil found another terminal and turned it on, his eyes intent on his work, but one of his hands always resting on his gun.

Keiji did the same and booted up the terminal he was at and he logged in, mildly surprised that Kanoko's old login and password was still active in the system. However, his surprise grew as the first thing that appeared on his screen was a message with a picture of an oddly familiar-looking woman.

_Dearest Caridad,_

_If you are reading this then it is as I had feared. They have taken everything away from me and the only thing I have left is my fear. I am spiriting my child away before the fear consumes me. It has been seven years since you left and I know you and I cannot reconcile in such a way fitting, but I do hope with the sincerest of hopes that we may find peace with each other once more._

_I've made sure that if __**he**__ does find out about this room, __**he**__ cannot access what we have discovered. You will know what needs to be done. I am too cowardly to finish the job that we have started and too cowardly to destroy it. It is my hope that perhaps, sometime in the future we would be able to see each other again as proper sisters do._

_ Love,_

_ Varie_

The letter dissolved onto a blank screen that demanded a password and Keiji stared at the blinking icon. With just that letter, he felt as if all the pieces of a very long puzzle had just fit. There were a few blanks here and there in the puzzle, but he felt like he had just solved the biggest mystery that was his wife of seventeen years with that one letter. It all made sense now…or at least most of it. It explained everything that Kanoko had been telling him in bits and pieces throughout their marriage and it most certainly reinforced his initial decision to let her live after he had found her and baby Kira hiding in the slums of Copernicus City.

He was sure now, of the woman who had made that desperate call to them years ago, the woman who had named herself Varie Asuka. The woman's picture in the letter was much younger than the face that had greeted them in that short call, but Keiji recognized her after all these years. His wife had said that she had family, but had never told him who they were.

He understood why she had been angry and why she had immediately disconnected the call and said that she would report Varie to Uzumi. It was because the two sisters had been involved with the Blue Cosmos project here in Rodina. Kanoko wanted to cut everything off from her past after Mendel, and it included her own sister and assistant.

However, he also knew that his wife was a very good sister and had always kept silent tabs on her own family to make sure that they were all right. It was the reason why she had mentioned she knew about her own project's success, but had deigned not to know anything afterwards. He still did not understand why, but he had a feeling it was partially out of shame that Kanoko stopped keeping tabs on Varie.

If Varie Kamiya was truly Varie Asuka, something he had no doubt of but wasn't one-hundred percent sure, and Kanoko wanted them to rescue Shinn Asuka, that meant that somehow, Shinn was related to the virus plaguing the Naturals. His wife had even said that Shinn represented something worst if they did not rescue him. Was he the first carrier of the virus? Or was it something familial that made his wife want to rescue her newfound nephew? That was still one piece of the puzzle he could not figure out.

Another big piece was how did Kira and even Cagalli fit into all of this? Why were they captured? He had a feeling that he should have known the answer, but somehow, it eluded him.

"I'm in," Ledonil's quiet voice suddenly broke through his thoughts and he realized he had been staring absently at the screen demanding a password for the last few minutes. Cursing silently for his wandering mind and inactivity while the others outside were desperately battling, he quickly typed in the password that his wife had provided. She had specifically told him that it was something no one else could have thought of and the computer beeped a soft affirmative as he was logged in and files appeared.

Keiji knew he didn't have the luxury of reading all the files and so brought out a small thumb drive and inserted it into its port before coping all of the files, including hidden ones that he had found onto the drive.

"I've got the files; let me know when you have yours so we can purge the system," Ledonil said and Keiji nodded.

"A few more seconds," he watched the timer click down before finally it gave another soft beep that all of the files on the computer were copied onto the thumb drive. "Okay, in three…two….one!" with that command, he and Ledonil yanked out their thumb drive simultaneously and a virus began to purge the whole system from their two drives.

Just then a blaring klaxon sounded outside and Keiji quickly pocketed the drive securely inside his clothes and hooked his flashlight back onto his assault rifle before hurrying over to the door where Wave was looking around nervously, part of her face not obscured by winterized goggles bathed in the flashing red light.

"Clear," Pointer's whisper came over the comm. before Wave took point and headed back the way they had come from. Keiji followed after her and Ledonil took up rear guard. As they ran down the corridors he tapped his comm. to Alpha Team's frequency. "Alpha, report!"

A hissing static answered him before the staccato of gunfire blared over the comm. followed by Desert's voice. "…taking gunfire along the west corridor. Could use some back up here!"

"Back up is-"

Keiji never got to finish his command just as the tiled ceiling opened up and he dived to the ground as two bodies fell through, one standing on top of the other. With a sickening crunch Keiji saw Pointer's body flop on impact on the ground, the person crouched over him, a grim wolfish smile on his face. He immediately brought up his assault rifle and fired at the intruder that had killed Pointer.

However, what he didn't expect was the mysterious blond-haired man to move so _fast_ out of the line of fire and to his horror some of his bullets impacted where Ledonil was, throwing him back into the wall. "Ledonil!" he stopped firing as soon as he saw the burly man fall to the ground, wounded by his own fire.

"Too bad, old man," the jovial, yet deadly whisper was right next to his ear before his assault rifle was forcibly wrenched from his grip and Keiji automatically knew what was going to happen next as his training from all those years ago settled in his mind.

He reacted without thinking and threw and elbow into where the thought the face was and was rewarded with a crunching sound followed by a howl of pain. Keiji gritted his teeth, and spun around, feeling a bit of stiffness in his muscles and bones as he forced his aging body to work for him, to remember the muscle memory and moves he had used so long ago.

He was confronted with the bloody face of an older teenage man that looked eerily familiar…almost like seeing a mirror image of Prayer Reverie a part of him mind supplemented, except with a more fanatical smile on his face and a nasty look in his blue eyes. However, where as his mind was processing the information his body was already moving.

He grabbed the barrel of the assault rifle before the blond-haired man could move and swung it upward before ripping it out of his hands and tossing it aside. Giving him a quick one-two punch followed swiftly by kneeing him in the groin, Keiji stepped back and delivered a blow to the man's temple.

"Wave, get Ledonil out of here! Meet at the rendezvous point! Do not find Desert," he ordered before ducking a disoriented blow from the young man who shook blood from his broken nose before glaring at him.

"You'll pay for that," he bared his teeth in a rictus of combat before suddenly blurring out of his vision.

Keiji realized that the young man had to be one of the Extended he had heard so much from Admiral Ramius and Kira in the aftermath of the war three years ago. It made sense as they had discovered the Extendeds were created by Blue Cosmos and since Rodina was a Blue Cosmos facility and they hated Coordinators, it would seem that Extendeds were created here.

He knew he was at a slight disadvantage, only being a Natural and having none of the speed of the youthful attacker, but he knew he held one advantage, he had experience. Keiji grunted in pain as the first blow landed hard on his ribs, bruising some before he spun slightly and blocked another punch to his mid-section. He reversed the block from a kick and held up on his other hand in a hammer blow to the man's nose.

However, the young man pulled his head back, wise from his first encounter and retaliated with a side kick to his stomach. Keiji shifted to his side and grabbed the leg before twisting it and throwing the young man to the ground. He advanced forward and raised his heel to smash it into the man's ribs before he rolled away and flipped himself back onto his feet.

"Not bad, old man…" blood flowed freely from the young man's face and onto his lips, giving him a horrifying appearance before he spat out some of that blood that had dripped into his mouth.

Keiji kept his hands up in a defensive posture all the while staying silent. Youth loved to talk trash, he knew from experience, and the young man was no exception. He wasn't the best at hand-to-hand combat, having been trained as an assassin within the Black Ops, but he knew how to end a fight quickly. So he grabbed his combat knife on the side of his pant leg, only to find that it had sheared off somehow and saw the glint return on the young man's face as he slowly held up his own combat knife in a taunting manner.

Keiji narrowed his eyes and pulled out the only other thing he knew could double as a weapon on him, a pencil. It was flimsy, but he knew that he would have to make the most of his surgical strike. With a cry, the young man charged at him and Keiji ducked under the first blow, grabbing his outstretched arm and twisted it, breaking his grip on the knife before he pulled it across his shoulder and forced the arm downward.

The crack of a broken elbow echoed throughout the mostly silent hallway and so did the scream of agony from the young man before Keiji released the arm, letting it flop beside the young man and stabbed him in his leg with the pencil.

The young man let out another cry of pain before falling to the ground, writhing and Keiji finished it off with a swift kick to the young man's head, making him fall silent. It was also then that he realized his breath was coming in ragged and his whole body screaming pain from the beating he had received and from unused muscles not used to combat for so long. Keiji grimaced and groaned softly as he knelt down and checked the young man for a pulse.

He breathed a quick sigh of relief as he found one before he dug around the man's neck and took out two dog tags. Taelon Ariga, the young man was called and Keiji wondered if he should leave the young man where he was… The LF would benefit from a prisoner of war and plus there was the mystery of why he looked so eerily like Prayer that worried him. Perhaps Prayer had a brother none of them knew about? Plus if he really was an Extended then they would definitely benefit from figuring out who they were.

Keiji sighed softly before quickly tying the young man's wrists and legs together and hauling him up on his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He moved over to where Pointer's body was and pulled the dog tags off of the young sniper before picking up his assault rifle on the ground and headed towards the rendezvous point.

When he finally reached it he was both relieved and dismayed at the sight. Relieved that he saw Ledonil, propped up by the wall, looking alert, albeit injured while Wave was scanning the area for any signs of threat. Dismayed because no one else had arrived there, which meant they were either still in combat or worst, dead. He dumped his load unceremoniously near Ledonil and nodded a greeting to him.

"Desert reported that he had the Princess, but there was no word from Canard's half of the team," Ledonil looked pained as he spoke, but his voice sounded steady. "They're trying to make their way back, but they're under heavy gunfire."

"I'll back them up; you and Wave keep an eye on things here. If you come under attack, do not wait for us. Return to the _Archangel_ as soon as possible," Keiji was torn between going after Canard and helping Cagalli. Either person he went after meant abandoning the other to potential death. However, Kira did not know that Canard was his brother and knew that Canard would want him to extract Cagalli first. He could only hope that Canard would find Kira soon…

"And this guy?" Ledonil looked down at their prisoner.

"I stabbed a pencil into his thigh, but he shouldn't be bleeding too much," Keiji shrugged, "I think Admiral Ramius would benefit from an Extended as a prisoner."

Ledonil nodded, shifting a bit, wincing, before looking up at him, "Good luck…"

Keiji nodded grimly before giving Ledonil the thumb drive he had on him, "Take this. If I don't return…"

"You will," Ledonil gripped his hand and the drive firmly before taking the drive away from him, "I won't be the one to tell your wife that she lost her whole family to this godforsaken place."

Keiji had to give him a crooked smile before shouldering his assault rifle and nodded to Wave before heading towards the direction that Alpha Team were assigned to.

* * *

Cagalli held the pistol in her hands in a death grip as she ran alongside the red-headed young man who had introduced himself as Martin DaCosta, second-in-command to Andrew Bartfield and codenamed for this operation Desert. She had faintly remembered the red-head man, most of the memories not in a good way, but like Murrue and the others on the Archangel during the war three years ago, had accepted the former ZAFT soldiers as allies. On her way back to Shiho, she had run into Desert and his men in a running gun battle with a group of Terazuma's security force and while he had immediately wanted her to go to the rendezvous point, she had point-blank refused and told them instead to head to where Shiho was.

There was no way she was going to leave that Coordinator girl in a den full of anti-Coordinator jackasses. Desert had protested until she had stared him down and he had meekly agreed before they took off at a run, still pursued by the security forces.

However, when they had reached the point where she had last seen Shiho engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Stellar, they were not there. They had ran along the corridors until Cagalli skidded to a stop before she saw a long brown-haired crumpled form by the side of the corridor and immediately recognized it as Shiho.

"Shiho!" she shouted as she ran forward and knelt down next to her prone body. Desert knelt next to her and immediately placed a hand under her jaw. "She's got a pulse, a bit thready, but it's there."

"She's a Coordinator," Cagalli said and saw Desert's eyes widen a fraction before he gestured to the other member of their three man band to come over and pick the girl up.

"Careful, we don't know what we're dealing with," Desert cautioned as Shiho moaned involuntarily as she was draped gently over Caster's shoulder, the bigger and more heavyset man switching his rifle to his other hand. He then tapped his ear, "Wolf, eyes?"

"Two corridors away. Advise heading an alternate route," Wolf's cool feminine voice replied back in Cagalli's own ear bud that she had gotten from Desert when they had met up.

"Come on," Desert gestured for them to continue and they headed down towards the cells once more, but suddenly made a sharp left to another corridor and Cagalli wondered how Desert knew where he was going until she realized Wolf must have been guiding him through a private channel.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they ran along the corridors.

"_Archangel_," Desert replied shortly.

"But Kira-"

"Canard's team is handling that," the red-haired man cut her off curtly; "you are the priority target, Princess."

"Who?" Cagalli asked as they turned down another empty corridor, their steps echoing loudly as they ran towards the exit, or at least she hoped it was another exit. "And why am I the priority target? Kira's just as important!"

"Princess," she saw DaCosta shake his head slightly, "you know I respect Kira Yamato as both a pilot and as a fellow Coordinator, but he is only that, a pilot. You are the leader of the Liberation Forces and the leader of Orb, our homeland."

Cagalli opened her mouth to protest, saying that Kira was her brother when she remembered that DaCosta and the others did not know of the familial relationship between her and Kira. No one was to ever know of that outside the little circle that had found out the truth of Mendel. She knew some, like Murrue suspected something, but even then the Admiral was too polite to ask questions. She realized that Desert spoke the truth that in essence, Kira was just that, a pilot. Someone who was part of the hand of the Liberation Forces that kept the peace throughout the Earth Sphere.

Even though Kira had the Freedom, the Gundam was nothing more than an instrument like him; there to enforce the peace. However, she knew her brother, knew that he hated the war, and hated the fighting. It was why he had immediately resigned his commission after they had defeated Sven Anderson last year. He had wanted to go back to his old life, to just be a regular student.

"Kira is a civilian," she forced through her gritted teeth in a quiet tone, "he was caught up in events that was beyond his control. You know as well as I do he had resigned his commission after the Talon was eliminated. He is a Coordinator in a den full of the people who would surely kill him than let him live. Would you leave him in the enemy's hands if you had the chance to save him?"

The sound of booted feet coming their way made them all halt and stop whatever words were coming from Desert's mouth as everyone looked up, guns pointed warily at the shadows.

"It's me," the familiar voice of Kira's father, Keiji made Cagalli start as the man emerged from the shadows of the corridor they had been running down.

"Keiji!" she blinked in surprise.

"Good," Keiji nodded in greeting before looking at Desert, the ghost of a smile of approval on his face, "you're clear from here on."

"Roger," Desert replied before tapping his ear, "Wolf, head to the surface and signal the _Archangel_ to make sure we're coming out with the Princess-"

"No wait, what about Kira?!"

"As ordered," Wolf's cool voice came back before a few feet away in the shadows, a loud clang of something metallic dropping to the ground was heard before the lightly booted feet hitting the same metallic ground echoed. Cagalli realized that it was Wolf, coming out from whatever perch above them she had been shadowing them in.

"Wait!" Cagalli was getting angry that her protests were going unheard and violently shrugged off Keiji's arm around her shoulder.

"Princess-"

"I'm not moving until you tell me that Kira will be rescued," she glared at all of them, her anger growing. She did not care that she was the priority target or that she was important. All she knew was that she wanted her brother out of there, out of Blue Cosmos hands.

"We can't…" Desert started before her eyes flashed heatedly at him and he trailed off.

"You call me the leader of the Liberation Forces right?" she asked, her tone icy, "well as the leader, I am ordering you to go back and rescue Kira Yamato, the pilot of the Freedom."

"Princess, we told you that Canard and his team are handling that part," Desert looked a bit disgruntled and even the big man Caster was frowning in disapproval.

Keiji sighed, tapping his radio, "Hyperion, status?"

Static fizzled in the comm. and Cagalli arched an eyebrow at Desert, "Well?"

"He could be under fire," Keiji replied quietly, "Princess, we need to get you out of here."

The hand pressed to her back was not a gentle on and she found herself being forcibly shoved towards Desert by Keiji, startling her. How could she get it through them that Kira was also considered a priority target? The thought occurred to her and she suddenly pivoted, grabbing her uncle by his arm and pulled him down. He would understand the importance! "They know," she hissed at him, "he knows…Dullindal!"

"Dullindal?" Keiji echoed, "As in Chairman Gilbert Dullindal of the PLANT?"

"He's the one behind all of this, behind Blue Cosmos!"

"What?!" Desert's sharp exclamation broke through, "that's impossible! He's up in PLANT right now, overseeing Athrun's trial!"

"Athrun's trial?!" the startling news shocked Cagalli as she looked over to Desert who immediately shut his mouth and she realized that it was something that he wasn't supposed to say.

"It's a briefing for another time," Keiji immediately interceded on Desert's behalf, his tone quiet and with the hint of a warning, "Lacus is overseeing Athrun's defense." He gestured to Desert to take her and she felt the red-headed Coordinator grip her arm tightly, pulling her slightly in the direction of the exit from this hellhole. "Desert…"

"Yes sir," Desert nodded once before the tugging became even more insistent and Cagalli wanted to dig her heel in, but she also knew that she was losing the battle that she had no grounds to fight. She turned back to Keiji, shaking her head, "Please, find him! He knows!"

As her feet stumbled along reluctantly, she saw her uncle nod gravely before shouldering his assault rifle and headed down the hallway, tapping his earpiece. Soon, he disappeared into the halls and she glanced at Desert. "You can let me go now DaCosta."

The iron grip on her arm immediately disappeared and she followed her two rescuers, silently praying to Hamuna that Keiji would be able to find Kira and get him away from this god-awful place. "What's this about Athrun on trial?" she asked quietly as they hurried along. Desert halted for a few seconds as they saw a bulkhead door slightly open, the cool winter air blowing a few snowflakes in. She shivered slightly before they approached the door and Desert pushed it open cautiously.

"It's clear," Wolf's voice called from somewhere above, "Specter is wounded. Wave already took him back to the _Archangel_." The high pitched whine and crackle of explosions from what was definitely a battle above them nearly obscured Wolf's voice, but nonetheless Desert nodded and gestured for her to climb up while he watched the ladder below.

"Lieutenant Commander Zala was to tender his resignation from FAITH to Chairman Dullindal before joining up with us on our assault in Rodina," Desert explained, "but you said that there were two of them?"

Cagalli nodded, "Dullindal and Terazuma. They…" She trailed off for a second, wondering how she would explain to someone who knew nothing of the horrors of Mendel and especially of Rau Le Creuset and the twisted history behind the Ultimate Coordinator Project. "Let's go," she shook her head and quickly climbed up, hoping that Desert would not ask anymore questions at the moment.

The full chill of the Siberian winter air nearly blew her off of her feet, but it immediately subsided just a hair as someone draped a warm fur-lined parka over her and she glanced over to see an Asian female, all dressed from head to toe in black shouldering a very large sniper rifle. Her face held no expression, but Cagalli thought she saw the hint of a relieved smile in her dark brown eyes.

"Yu-ling Chan," the woman introduced herself, "codenamed Wolf."

"Thank you," she tugged the parka closer to her body, pulling the hood up, just as Caster carrying Shiho's unconscious body came up the ladder followed quickly by Desert. The ground beneath them suddenly shook as a rumble of a nearby missile impact.

"We should get to the shuttle," Wolf peered outside for a second, her eyes narrowing, "Wave took the second one to bring Specter back for medical treatment."

Suddenly the loud crackle over their earpieces made them wince before Keiji's harried voice came over it. "This is Akuma, Hyperion is incoming wounded. No other survivors. ETA two minutes. Tell Captain Ramius to abort. Repeat, this is Akuma, Hyperion is incoming wounded. No other survivors. Abort mission."

"Roger that," Desert quickly replied before gesturing for them to move out.

"A-Abort?!" Cagalli stuttered as she was forcibly led outside into the blinding snow, the sounds of battle loud above them. She looked up and saw multiple flashes of light followed by thunder rumbles before she could faintly make out the Archangel in the fierce blizzard, firing missiles and guns at random points in the sky.

She tried to dig her feet in to stop herself from being lead towards a shuttle sitting innocently near a battered remnant of a house, but the snow prevented her from having any grip at all and nearly made her slip if it wasn't for Wolf's strong grip on her arm steadying her. Keiji hadn't found Kira and was now trying to escape the Blue Cosmos facility. Pain filled her as she realized that they were abandoning Kira in this god-forsaken place, leaving him to the tender mercies of Dullindal and Blue Cosmos. Leaving him with the man who knew more than his title as the Ultimate Coordinator, knew of the events of Mendel and all of its horrid secrets.

"This is Desert, _Archangel_ do you read?" she barely heard DaCosta's voice over the thunderous roar of missiles and fighting above her and around the small burnt town.

The fizzle of the comm. came over before Murrue's tinned voice came back, "Desert, we read. Be advised, we've taken severe damage and don't know how long we can hold on anymore."

"Mission abort," Desert replied, "repeat, mission abort."

"Roger that," the reply was swift, but Cagalli thought she heard the undercurrent of resignation in the Captain's voice.

"Admiral, Kira's still down there!" she activated her comm. as they entered the shuttle, Desert moving past her to the cockpit. Her eyes roamed the interior, not really looking at anything in particular before her breath hitched slightly as she saw Ledonil Kisaka, the man who had taken care of her so many times, the man who knew of the secrets of Mendel and yet, had followed her father's orders to the letter; lying across a bench, chest wrapped up with multiple bandages.

"Princess Cagalli!" Murrue's startled tone replied, "It's so good to hear your voice again."

"You too," she quickly replied as she approached Ledonil's unconscious form and gripped his fingers, squeezing them tightly. Tears prickled the corner of her eyes as she realized that Ledonil had been badly hurt trying to rescue her. "Murrue, Kira-"

"Cannot be rescued," Keiji's deep voice from behind wheezed out and she turned to see him limp in; dragging the semi-conscious form of another man who was holding his side, blood evidently seeping out from what looked like a deep wound. "Desert, we're onboard!" he shouted placing the semi-conscious young soldier against one of the seats, before rumbling of the shuttle's engines shuddered throughout the deck plate and they took off.

Cagalli opened her mouth to protest when suddenly faster than her eye could see; she felt the stinging slap against her cheek and gaped at her uncle. Her hand touched the sore spot on her face as she looked up at Keiji who had slapped her.

"Kira cannot be rescued," Keiji said in the deathly silent shuttle, "that is the end of that."

Cagalli stood, numbed for a few seconds before her fury took over her, "He's your son! And you're _abandoning_ him to Blue Cosmos?!"

"I have no choice-"

"You always have a choice!" she shouted, not caring that everyone else on the shuttle heard her, "He is your _son_! Your _Coordinator_ son! The son you _swore_ to protect forever from anyone who would harm him! Blue Cosmos will do that if you just leave him behind!"

She saw Keiji grit his teeth for a few seconds, a pained expression flitting across his face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the soldier, probably the one codenamed Hyperion, staring at the two of them, his dark eyes unreadable.

"You think I don't know that?" she barely heard Keiji's hiss, so quiet was his voice, "you think I don't want to leave him behind? That I want to tear this place apart looking for my son? You think I don't want that?! That I want him to be left behind? That I know what Blue Cosmos does to Coordinators and their fanatical hatred of them?!"

Kira's father looked at her and she recoiled, shocked at the depth of pain in his eyes and his body language, "I would die just to see my son safe, to know that he doesn't have to fight this god dammed war anymore. That he can just be who he is, a gentle-kindhearted person who could laugh all of the time instead of having to worry about others or worrying about someone trying to harm his family and friends."

Cagalli did not know what to say from that admission and kept her mouth shut.

"Do you even know how many people died trying to save you and Kira? How much was sacrificed? Do you even care?"

"I do, but I…" Cagalli trailed off as she stared at Ledonil, then to Shiho, and to Hyperion. She realized that all of them, and many others, including Murrue and the _Archangel_ had sacrificed so much to get her out of here. She had heard Murrue say that the _Archangel_ and whatever ships had arrived at Rodina had already taken heavy losses and they did not know how long they could hold out when she was brought out of the facility. She realized that in her desperation, she was being selfish, that she was asking so much of the Liberation Forces just to rescue one more person. That they had sacrificed so much just to get her out.

They had sacrificed it all to assault a heavily fortified Blue Cosmos facility, where Extendeds were produced and developed to fight with the speed and agility of Coordinators. That they had dove straight into the hornets' nest just to make sure that she was safe and out of their hands. She hung her head, ashamed at her own selfishness and actions.

Desert was right; Kira was just only a pilot. And even if he was a Coordinator, she had been deemed by Murrue and the others who had planned this suicidal mission the priority target. Everyone in the LF who had assaulted Rodina had been willing to sacrifice their own lives just to make sure that hers was saved. And she had selfishly asked them to give more, to give not only their lives, but their souls as well.

She barely heard the shuttle dock in the _Archangel's_ hanger bay as she looked up at Keiji before sweeping her gaze at all of them, Desert included as he came out of the cockpit. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "and thank you. Thank you so much…" The tears that had been pricking in the corner of her eyes now fell freely down her cheeks.

She was suddenly engulfed in a warm embrace by Keiji who held her close, stroking the top of her head. "I know…its okay Cagalli…its okay." Cagalli sniffled as the tears came down faster, silently crying for her selfishness, her hopelessness, but most of all, for the fact that she knew she had to abandon her brother to the wolves.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, we are finally done with Operation Rodina; relatively speaking. The aftermath and revelations will be discussed in the coming chapters as will the other characters. My apologies for taking so long to write this chapter and it is a late Christmas gift to you the loyal readers. I hope to finish this story soon – probably in the next few months.


	17. Falling Towards Apotheosis

Gundam SEED: Destiny Falling

By: Shadow Chaser

A Sequel to Entropy Rising

* * *

_Phase Seventeen – Falling Towards Apotheosis_

**Somewhere in China Airspace**

Canard winced in pain as his stitching rubbed against the loose tee-shirt he was wearing as he walked down the halls of the _Archangel_ towards the mess hall. It had been at least a few hours since the fleet had retreated from Rodina. The losses they had sustained had been severe, with the OMNI ship _Heracles_ and ZAFT ship _Franklin_ completely destroyed and the OMNI ship _Ulysses_ barely able to fly even with some help from the _Kusanagi_. The _Archangel_ herself had also suffered damage, taking the brunt of the damage from what appeared to be a new Gundam named the Destiny.

He had reviewed the battle footage while he had been recovering from the minor surgery a few hours ago, noting how the Gundam was being piloted and how single-minded and fierce its attacks were. Whoever had been piloting the Gundam knew what he or she was doing. While a part of him frowned at such fierceness in battle, the deep seeded competitive part of him, a holdover from his days in OMNI as their failure of a Coordinator pilot trembled in anticipation at hoping to face the Destiny.

He wanted to fight the Destiny. Fight it and defeat it. He recognized the feeling whenever he had confronted a more powerful mobile suit or Gundam than his own Hyperion Shiki, but instead of suppressing it, he let it fill him. He did not let it overpower him, that would be betraying Prayer's trust and belief in him, but he allowed himself the thrill of going against such a skillful pilot.

It was like when he had first faced off against Prayer's Dreadnought back in the war three years ago, when he had first thought about facing off against Kira and the Strike. The heady anticipation of battle…

His brief thought about his estranged younger brother suddenly derailed all of his thoughts and threw metaphoric cold water on them. His steps slowed to a halt before he got to the mess hall as he clenched his right hand into a fist and pounded it against the wall. He had failed in his mission, and couldn't even save himself. Keiji Yamato had to haul his ass out of there and he had even allowed himself to be wounded, all because of Gilbert Dullindal's shocking words to him.

"_I'm deeply hurt, Canard, after all, it's not polite to point a gun at the man who saved your life 19 years before that..."_

_Canard frowned, "You're lying." Yet as he said those words, he could not help but vaguely recognize the man in front of him. He knew he had seen him before, somewhere. Maybe on the vids or something, perhaps in one of the magazines that Lowe read? This man knew his codename back in the Ultimate Coordinator project, like Kanoko._

"_Still in denial are we Canard? You were back then and you still are now. Tell me," the man clasped his hands behind him and took a step forward, "do you still compare yourself to Kira Yamato?"_

"_Who?" Canard backed up a half step._

_The man gave him a brief sardonic smile before shaking his head, "Come now, Canard, denial will not get you anywhere. I know you were compared to Kira in your time with OMNI. I know all about your hatred towards him, how you were inferior, the imperfect Ultimate Coordinator, a failure."_

_Canard flinched at the words, the harsh and unyielding truth that he had heard so long ago. It even sounded exactly like his voice, the same one that had told him _"…if you defeat a 'success' then you'll become 'genuine." _ He straightened, staring at the man, "Who are you?"_

"_Gilbert Dullindal, Canard Pars," the man smiled, his perfect teeth glistening in the dim light._

_Canard gaped as he finally recognized the man. He had only seen brief news images of the newest elected Supreme Councilor of PLANT and therefore hadn't really paid attention. Politics were not his thing and since the Junk Guild served no political entity, they did not concern themselves with which leader was which, with the exception of Orb's Lioness._

_But the impossible absurdity of it confounded him. "That's…impossible. You…you can't be here."_

"_But I am," Gilbert spread his arms out wide._

"_Then who…PLANT…," Canard trailed off as his mind raced at the possibility of Dullindal arresting Athrun Zala then hurrying down to Earth to Rodina of all places. It was just impossible in that short of a time frame, even with the fastest shuttle or Gundam. "You can't be him, that's not possible..."_

_Dullindal shrugged, "It is all relative. However, the real question you should have been asking, Canard, is why?"_

"_Because you're a traitor to all Coordinators, working with the most hated enemy, Blue Cosmos?" he shot back, glancing over to the pink-haired girl who was standing silently before looking back at supposedly the Supreme Councilor of PLANT standing in front of him. "If you truly are who you claim to be, then this isn't really Blue Cosmos?"_

_Dullindal smiled slightly, "Perceptive, aren't you? That is one quality I do have to give you credit for. Not even your brother could have figured it out. But this _is _a Blue Cosmos facility, yet it is not." He gestured to the expansive room around him and towards the purplish-glowing pods, "This is the future."_

_The man's eyes had lit up in a maniacal glow, "The terrestrial cures founded here, the meshing of the two greatest enemies, Coordinator and Natural, combined technologies together to create a world where peace can be achieved. That bad memories and past hatreds of each other can be erased with a simple few hours of dreamless sleep."_

"_By killing everyone? By unleashing a plague upon the population? By kidnapping the Princess of Orb? What do you hope to accomplish with that?" Canard could see that someone was in one of the pods. He did not know who, but he had a feeling that it was either Kira, Cagalli, or even the ZAFT pilot Shinn Asuka._

"_I had hoped Princess Cagalli would have seen the usefulness of what I was trying to do, to save many more lives even though some had to be sacrificed, but alas, she is of no more use to me. With her brother, your brother, here," Dullindal gestured to the occupied pod, "he will be the instrument of change. To achieve what he had always wanted to achieve, peace."_

_Canard narrowed his eyes as he took a step forward towards the pod, but halted as soon as he saw the pink-haired Lacus-look-alike, Meer, step towards him, her cool blue eyes flashing a warning._

"_Now, now Meer," Dullindal turned back to the girl, "Why don't we give poor little Canard a chance? After all, it would do him wonders to see that he actually accomplished something after all of these years."_

_The sarcastically laced words bit into Canard, but he refused to acknowledge them and instead, glared at the man who called himself Dullindal. There was no doubt in his mind that even if this man claimed to be Gilbert Dulllindal, he knew something of the Ultimate Coordinator project and of Kira and Cagalli's secret. But with Kanoko's confirmation that Rodina was a Blue Cosmos facility, one of their testing grounds; he was still puzzled as to how both the Ultimate Coordinator project and the most anti-Coordinator group came together._

_It was Blue Cosmos who had a hand in destroying Mendel's facilities after Katherine Hibiki, Kanoko Kamiya, Uzumi Nara Attha, and Ledonil Kisaka had escaped from the facility. But Kira had been adamant that Mendel and all of its files had been destroyed last year after the defeat of Sven Anderson and the Talon. However, Kanoko did not know if any other scientist had escaped Mendel's initial destruction nineteen years ago._

_Could this man standing in front of him be one of those scientists? Maybe even the one who saved him as he had said? The more Canard thought about it, the more it made sense, but it also served to make even less sense for such a man to be working with Blue Cosmos. Working with the group that had destroyed the most advance research into Coordinators since George Glenn described his own gene alteration many years ago._

_Like Dullindal said, the real question was why. Why was he working with them? Why was he doing this? Why?_

"_Why?" he looked at Dullindal, "Why do you even care if I succeed? For all I know, this is a trap."_

"_And you believe that you would be caught in that trap?" Dullindal suddenly laughed, making him flinch and even Meer to stare at her master with a curious expression before it morphed back into an impassive one. "How I had admired your sense of humor, Canard. But do you honestly believe that you, the failed Ultimate Coordinator, will be needed here to create mankind's perfect future?"_

"_No," he answered without any hesitation, "but that doesn't mean I won't try to make sure that it is a future I and others can choose."_

_He suddenly dashed towards the pod, hoping to free whoever was inside before something bad happened, but just then a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye warned him before a knife swept across the air where his neck was. He threw up his arm to protect himself and hissed in pain as the sharp blade slammed into his forearm, cutting deep._

_However, he used the opportunity and kicked towards Meer's stomach, making her bow slightly before using his free right arm and grabbing hold of her shoulder. Unceremoniously slamming his knee up towards her face, he felt the satisfying crunch of a bone breaking as her body bent the other way. He expected her to release the hold on the combat knife she had dug into his arm, but she held on and instead, ripped the rest of the blade across the wound, making him cry out slightly before flicking the blood away._

_She stumbled back slightly, but did not fall to the ground and instead, grabbed her broken nose and twisted it slightly, setting the bone before holding her knife up in a defensive position in front of her. Canard tensed; there had to be more than one assassin in the room, ready to shoot him with their guns. A quick glance at Dullindal saw the man staring impassively at their scuffle. However, he saw the man's finger twitch before he reverted his gaze back to Meer as she charged at him, swinging wildly._

_He leaned back from her first swing, before lashing out with his right leg in a swift side kick. She danced away from his attempt before spinning rapidly and attempted to stab him on the side. He caught her arm with his injured one, gritting his teeth at the sharp shooting pain and sudden loss of strength as his wounded protested the movement. The knife must have cut deep he thought as he reinforced his block with his right arm and pushed against her blow, trying to bend her arm the other way._

_The girl was fast; he had to give her that. Was she one of those mysterious Natural pilots that he had heard were called Extendeds by Admiral Ramius and Kanoko? If so, she definitely had the agility and reflexes like a Coordinator. He suddenly let her arm go and crouched low, swiftly punching her in the stomach before following it up with another blow to her broken nose with the heel of his right palm. At the last minute, she pulled her face away from his blow and instead, jabbed with her free hand towards his throat._

_Canard choked as her blow connected with his throat and staggered back, grabbing his neck as he coughed, trying to breathe. He could feel the sweat pouring down his face. It wasn't that he wasn't fast; he knew he was a very fast fighter, but somehow, something was making him hesitate in his movements._

"_You're better than this Canard," Dullindal seemed to notice his hesitation also as he glared at the man before turning back to the pink-haired assassin. "Don't tell me you don't kill women now? Have you gotten this soft? Pathetic."_

"_Shut up," he growled out, coughing again as he rubbed his neck, trying to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling of not getting enough air. He knew why he was hesitating...he did not know if this woman, who looked a bit like Lacus Clyne, was an Extended or just a Coordinator who had turned traitor. He did not know if she had been stuck in one of those pods or was she willingly following orders. If she was an unwilling participant, and he killed her, then he would be no better than any of his OMNI handlers who did not care for innocent lives over the mission priority._

"_...help..."_

_The painful whisper made Canard turn slightly to see a blonde-haired girl, bloodied and dirtied with bruises all over her stagger into the room, clutching her left upper arm, blood seeping out of a wound between her fingers._

_However, his distraction cost him as he suddenly saw a pink blur out of the corner of his eye and brought his hands up in a defensive gesture, but it was too late. Pain exploded across his side and stomach as he felt the cool knife Meer had been holding stab into him. His legs buckled as he fell to his knees, clutching the handle of the knife as Meer stepped back, her eyes showing no hint of victory or excitement and instead looked dead and lifeless. Canard knew from firsthand experience that pulling out an embedded knife was a bad idea, especially where it had penetrated him._

_He could taste the metallic tinge of blood in his mouth and spat out a mouthful, glaring up at Meer who made no move to strike. A quick movement out of the corner of his eye made him glance towards Dullindal who had flicked a finger and Meer backed up a few more steps, bowing her head slightly. He whipped his head around to stare at the injured girl who was still limping in, her eyes wide and dazed, as if drugged._

"_Stellar...not...die..." the girl whispered staring at up him before she slumped over._

"_Meer, please attend-"_

_Dullindal never finished as the area was suddenly sprayed with bullets. Canard instinctively ducked as a few flew over his head and he saw Meer suddenly leap into action, shielding her master and keeper, pushing him to the ground._

"_Canard!" Keiji's voice sounded over the din of the assault rifle fire and he felt a strong arm clamp onto his own, pulling him to his feet._

_He staggered briefly from the loss of blood and sharp shooting pain of the knife still embedded in him and looked to see Kira's father, codenamed Akuma for the mission, holding his assault rifle pointed at the prone forms of Meer and Dullindal._

"_Did you find...?"_

"_There," Canard manage to point to the pod as best as he could, wincing, "but I couldn't-"_

_Keiji took one step forward before suddenly the ground rumbled and shook, nearly making the two of them fall to the ground from the tremors. Canard looked up, shocked to see a fiercesome mobile suit, no, a Gundam, painted upperbody deep blue while its verniers were blood red with black tips. However, that wasn't what shocked him – it was the waves of purplish-red satanic light coming from the verniers. It looked like a bastardized version of his own Armure Lumiere system he had on the Hyperion Shiki. It bathed the whole spacious area in a sinister and devilish glow..._

"Canard?" Prayer's quiet voice and a concerned hand on his shoulder startled him from his thoughts. He realized he had stopped walking and was standing along the side of the hallway, staring into space. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," he shrugged, not wanting to worry his friend. He had failed his mission, failed to rescue Kira. At least Princess Cagalli had been successfully extracted. His only hope now was that perhaps in a week or so they would be able to launch another assault on Rodina. However, he had a feeling that Dullindal, even if it was the man or someone who looked eerily like him, would have moved his whole operation to another facility.

There was still some doubt in his mind that it was really Gilbert Dullindal standing there, taunting him. But there was no doubt to him that it was this mysterious man that had spirited him away from Colony Mendel and had given him his original purpose to surpass Kira Yamato, the Ultimate Coordinator. For one thing that made him still doubt his identity was that Dullindal had done a live news broadcast of the charges against Athrun Zala less than an hour ago.

"Come on," Prayer pushed him slightly by his elbow, "you should at least get some food. You haven't eaten since your surgery and you've been watching too much battle footage."

In hindsight, he realized that his dear friend was probably the only one that could make him actually do something contrary to what he usually wanted, including sitting with a crowd of others. That was what exactly happened after they entered the _Archangel's_ mess hall and sat down with their trays of food next to the Princess, Admiral Ramius, and Keiji Yamato.

Curiously, the Princess had all but left her own meal alone, and instead was writing on a small tablet, taking occasional diction from Ramius. Prayer wordlessly gestured to the two women and glanced at Keiji who was occasionally watching but more concentrated on his food. "Cagalli is making the list of all service members who had perished in the battle."

"Ah," Prayer smiled slightly, "I'm sure their families would appreciate the efforts."

Canard did not say anything except to nod once. He had been privy to the Princess' demand to return to find and rescue Kira before the stark realization of the position the LF fleet was in that made her realize she had to leave him behind. He understood her anguish at wanting to rescue her brother and he too wanted to ignore his wounds and go back for Kira. But when Keiji had stopped her from doing so, he had realized that the pain and sorrow they all felt for seemingly abandoning Kira ate at them all. There was nothing they could do to stop it from happening.

He glanced at Keiji and caught the man's eyes. They were the only ones privy to what was really happening within Blue Cosmos. He did not know if Kira's father believed that the man who claimed to be Dullindal really was him, but he hoped that the information found in the database would be useful. What really ate at him was that he had failed, utterly failed at his mission. He had found Kira, but for someone like him, he could have rescued him with ease. He was part of the Ultimate Coordinator program and Dullindal had thrown it back in his face with his failure.

Keiji must have read some of the guilt that had been eating at him before shaking his head a wordless reassurance that it was not his fault. Canard knew that it was supposed to make him feel better, but all it did was make him feel even worst. How could he even face Kira's mother when they docked? It was true; he was a failed Ultimate Coordinator, just the prototype who could not even save the real one, just an older brother who failed to save his younger one.

As he continued to slowly eat, he occasionally glanced over to where Cagalli was writing down each individual name before composing a personal letter to the next of kin of the deceased. Occasionally Murrue murmured something or pointed at a name on her list to which the Princess silently nodded and either scratched out what she had written or rewrote it. He turned away after a few minutes and instead concentrated on the latest broadcast blaring on some of the screens in the mess hall.

Most of the screens were tuned into different news broadcasts, but all of them were focused on the on going drama unfolding in PLANT regarding Athrun Zala and his arrest for desertion of duty during the Bloody Valentine War. Immediately something clicked in Canard's head as he realized why the Princess chose such a public area of the ship to do her work. She did not want to be alone watching the news of her bodyguard and if Canard heard the rumors right, boyfriend's apparent trial. It was also that she wanted to show some kind of public support even though a majority, if not all of the personnel aboard the Archangel, were loyal to the Lieutenant Commander who was considered one of them.

Still, he glanced back at her before looking towards the screen where Lacus Clyne was holding a press conference, a firm and serious expression on her face, denouncing the charges brought up by the Supreme Council against Athrun. If it was Dullindal who had orchestrated all of the events, and if he truly was the same man who had saved him all of those years ago from Mendel; then what was he trying to accomplish with chaos happening in both PLANT, Orb, and the failed attack by the LF to rescue both prisoners from Rodina?

A sudden thought occurred to Canard as he tapped his lip, some of the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Mendel had been brought about to create the perfect weapon and perfect human, the Ulimate Coordinator. The Bloody Valentine War had been about freedom against persecution of Coordinators. The Talon's attack against Orb had been about Mendel in a twisted sense, and Blue Cosmos' kidnapping of Cagalli was Mendel related if it was really about Dullindal.

He remembered that when he had been spirited away instead of killed like he should have been after being deemed a failure, he was allowed to live as the failure of the Ultimate Coordinator. Dr. Hibiki wanted to create order amongst the genetic chaos and in a twisted way, everything after the birth of Kira Yamato, was about chaos wanting to be released after achieving godhood. If Dullindal was as twisted as he seemed when Canard confronted him back in Rodina, it meant that all of this was a simple logic in the order of the world.

Chaos.

But, the more disturbing thought was, to what end?

* * *

**Aprilius One, PLANT**

Lacus stood resolute against the flashes of cameras clicking away and against the bright lights mounted on top of the video cameras belonging to the TV news stations. She was currently holding her press conference on one of the more public-friendly areas in Aprilius One. She knew she could have held the press conference in one of the more press corp friendly rooms in the PLANT, but she wanted the openness of the area to strike a chord with the rest of PLANT and those on Earth that the Liberation Forces and she herself believed in Athrun Zala's innocence.

To many, especially those in PLANT, she was still technically engaged to Athrun, and used that to her advantage along with her popularity as a celebrity amongst the Coordinators. Her only wish was that Cagalli was here with her, showing Orb's support, but at least the flag representing the Liberation Forces was unfurled to its full length behind her so the cameras, no matter how close they got to her face, could not miss the colors of the LF.

She was glad that her father had long taught her the intricacies of politics and even schooled her in some of the ways, though had always encouraged her to follow her heart. And she did so for the first fifteen years of her life before the Bloody Valentine War erupted. Then she knew how to use her singing abilities and innate political savvy to make people understand the message of peace – that fighting between Naturals and Coordinators need not happen.

Since her arrival at PLANT, she had not heard a single report from Admiral Ramius or any of the other ship commanders regarding their assault on Rodina. Her Haro, Pink-chan, rested on one side of the podium, occasionally flashing its bright red eyes as it received and transmitted information across the LF network. It would alert her if there was a message about Rodina. She only could hope that the taskforce sent was successful in rescuing Cagalli and Kira.

Closing her eyes for a second before opening them again, she sighed quietly, trying to push away any and all thoughts about her beloved. Kira did not deserve this, deserve to be so violently thrust back into war and bloodshed. He was supportive of her efforts in both the Earth Senate and as a pop singer, but she had long saw that all he wanted was a measure of peace, a measure of stability. It was the very thing he was supportive of, her efforts to negotiate with the Eurasian Federation that got him back into war. She was usually fearless, a trait that her father had always told her got her into a lot of minor troubles back when she was very young, but even her fearlessness was tested when the Freedom had erupted from the bowels of the wounded _ReHOME_ and was nearly destroyed by the subsequent attempt to disable the nuclear warhead found in the tender ship.

It was further tested by the appearance of the Dendrobium Orchis, which had nearly sliced the heavily damaged Freedom into pieces before they had all realized the Dendrobium meant to capture its pilot. That moment had threatened to overwhelm her and she wanted nothing more than to give in the despair that the others were feeling, the knowledge that their friend, the Ultimate Coordinator, was in enemy hands. But she had stood resolute, unwilling to show her feelings in the midst of the turbulent turmoil that was inside of her. She could only somewhat comfort Athrun as they sought out Kira's parents to break the news. Could only offer hints of smiles and a cheerful façade to Prayer and Murrue as they discussed the potential assault on Rodina.

Even with the Liberation Forces committed to rescuing Cagalli and Kira, she knew, deep down, that it would be very hard, and barring a miracle of sorts, to rescue either one of them. But she still kept hope within her, that perhaps there would be a miracle of sorts. Maybe Canard Pars, the man that had surprised her and Athrun with the revelation that he was the twins' long lost and estranged brother, would be able to pull off that miracle.

So Pink-chan kept blinking its red eyes, awaiting news from Canard himself to whom she had told to contact her on the specific frequency that her Pink-chan used; to let her know of what transpired in the cold former Russian tundra. Because she knew that she could not bear to hear the news from anyone else. The resolute façade she had built around herself, her innocent smile, her politician's face as she had come to dub it, would shatter like glass if the news was either good or bad. Canard had some of the facial features that Kira had and that in of itself kept her composure.

She turned her head slightly, pulling herself out of her thoughts and focused more on the question the reporter to her left was asking. "As of this time, I am not privy to the council that Athrun is receiving," she had barely heard the question, but with her eidetic memory, she was able to recall some of the key words on the question, "you will have to ask Athrun's lawyer, Yuri Amalfi for more information."

"Miss Lacus, do you think having a member of the PLANT Supreme Council as his defense, would be wise?" another reporter suddenly shouted out.

"I believe that with Athrun's service record and his dedication to protecting PLANT and peace in the Earth Sphere would make the tribunal see that he is innocent of all charges brought against him," she replied smoothly, "Councilor Amalfi's son was a member of Athrun's team when he was with ZAFT and spoke highly of him. I believe that the Councilor's defense would prove to the rest of the tribunal that he is a dedicated soldier who wants nothing more than peace."

"What about his father?" someone in the gallery of reporters shouted out and Lacus looked towards the source of the voice, her gaze mild and blank.

"Patrick Zala's actions do not account for those of his son, in my opinion," she emphasized the latter half of her words, "otherwise; you will have to ask the tribunal or Councilor Amalfi for his words. I only ask that-"

She abruptly stopped as a commotion was heard in the gallery and squinted against the bright flashing lights to see a production assistant from one of the news crews run towards the podium, but stop in front of the television screen situated near her. "ESNN's releasing breaking news! Liberation Forces launched a large scale assault on some small Eurasian town!"

Lacus' breath caught in her throat before she glanced down at Pink-chan who was still blinking steadily before half a second later, his eyes started to flash furiously. To anyone who was looking at her Haro, there didn't seem to be a pattern to the lights, but Lacus recognized the ancient Morse code that her Haro's eyes flashed out. It was short and to the point, but it was from Canard. Her calm demeanor almost cracked for a second before she reached out and calmed herself down as she read the message. Cagalli was safe, but they had failed to rescue Kira.

She knew she would get a full report sometime later in the day from either Canard or Yzak's spy within Rodina who had hopefully escaped, but the thought that Kira was still in Blue Cosmos' hands…

Looking up once more, she saw that the assistant had flipped the television channel to ESNN, Miriallia Haw's employing station a part of her mused, and they were transmitting footage of the smoky and fiery battleground above Rodina, before cutting to footage of the badly limping remnants of the LF taskforce who were just arriving in Orb waters. Even she couldn't keep a small gasp of shock from escaping through her mouth at the damage all of the ships had taken, including the _Archangel_. The once pristine white ship was blackened and parts of the ship were either gone or heavily damaged.

"Representative Clyne, did you know about this?" a reporter demanded and Lacus turned her head to face the woman as the cameras swiveled back to her.

"Yes," she closed the mask around her face, keeping her expression stern, "I authorized the taskforce to rescue Princess Cagalli from Blue Cosmos hands."

"And how do you know if they were successful-"

"If they were, then the Princess would be holding a press conference soon. Any further inquiries can be directed to Admiral Ramius or the Orb Council," she replied smoothly before turning from the podium and leaving, Andrew Bartfield shielding her from the storm of cameras and questions that tried to follow her as she headed back towards the docking bay and the _Eternal_.

It was a bad and abrupt way to end the press conference, even she knew that, but she had to contact the _Archangel_ and hear about the account first hand. She needed to know that the LF would be back in Cagalli's hands and therefore she would be able to focus all of her efforts on making sure Athrun's trail proceeded fairly or that there was no trial at all. Ever since taking temporary command of the LF and the surprise arrest of Athrun, she had felt herself stretched thinly. She had been unable to deflect rumors of the faked videos of actors that looked like her and Athrun, unable to fully utilize the LF to keep the peace within the Eurasian Federation, and now, unable to even keep the barest of composure during a press conference that she knew would send pundits wondering what was wrong with her abruptness.

The Lacus Clyne she knew would have never ended it in such a way; she was cool, composed, and most certainly optimistic, even if things were dire. This Lacus Clyne that walked away from the cameras was shaken, afraid, and worried. She rubbed her nose a bit, feeling the slight itch of a sneeze in her. Maybe after she had received her reports and had contacted Keiji Yamato about the mission she would be able to hold another press conference and reassure the populace that the LF was doing everything it could to contain the situation on Earth.

"Lacus," Andrew's kind voice spoke behind her and she turned slightly, a small smile on her face as Pink-chan bounced up and down next to her.

"Yes?"

"You should get some rest," her faithful captain said gruffly, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I know," she certainly felt tired, "I just need to make sure that Cagalli and the others are safe."

Andrew nodded a slightly far away look on his face. It hadn't taken long for her to figure out that each time part of the LF fleet was out on patrol or doing something dangerous that Andrew's mind was always on a particular captain of a certain ship. The only thing she hadn't quite figured out was whether or not the former ZAFT captain was going to act on his feelings, but she also knew that he was too much of a gentleman to act so rashly. He would wait, patiently, perhaps forever if need be.

The two of them entered the ship and Lacus immediately headed to the stateroom, nodding her greetings to the rest of the crew who saluted. She did not pretend to salute to them, even though she had learned more about the military when she was with Athrun and with her father constantly in debate with the more radical members of the Supreme Council, but she did her best to acknowledge their salutes.

Andrew drifted off to the side to grab some of his specialty coffee still warm in one of the pots in the stateroom as she brought up a heavily encrypted line to the _Archangel_. It was nearly along the same frequencies she had used to contact Yzak with his own orders, but with a different encryption key. If anyone, Coordinator or not, hacked into the line itself, they would only get nothing but static. She had built these encryptions herself, utilizing the skills she had learned from Athrun and from tinkering with the Haros herself that he had given to her as presents.

She saw Andrew nod to her with coffee in hand before exiting the stateroom, leaving her alone. He knew the latter part of discretion and she was glad that he could pick up on such little things so fast. A few seconds later, Keiji's slightly static-washed face appeared in one of the central screens. To her dismay, she noticed that he looked exhausted, and his eyes were red rimmed. "We've just landed in port. Quarantine procedures," Kira's father sounded short and tired.

"How is everyone?" she asked gently, keeping her own voice steady.

Keiji ran a hand down the five o'clock stubble he had and shook his head, "Bad, to be honest. Cagalli's even worst off."

Lacus breathed in a quick breath to steady herself before staring at Keiji evenly, "It's not your fault."

"Goddammit!" the man suddenly thumped a fist somewhere near the image, washing it briefly in static before his face appeared back on, "Yes it is! I should have-" He glared at nothing in particular off the screen before turning back to her, his face pinched with anger and despair.

The words she wanted to say to comfort the man was not for his ears and they were not supposed to be from her. She knew the words Keiji needed to hear was from his wife, not from her. All she could do was say a few words of comfort, platitudes and nothing else. He would not accept the words from her, knowing that deep down, she wanted Kira safe and sound more than anything else. "You tried," her voice was quiet, bringing his gaze upon her, "you tried. And for that, thank you."

Keiji gave her a slightly crooked, watery smile before turning to the side, "Those aren't for me, Lacus." He suddenly got up from his seat and Lacus noticed his hands grabbing someone before they were unceremoniously shoved into the chair he had been occupying. Ah, a part of her was glad; there was the man who had tried so hard to save Kira.

"Canard," she greeted, a small smile of happiness that he had survived the mission filling her. She knew he had survived because of the message Pink-chan received, but to see him in person, it was good to know that he was hale, if not quite healthy judging by the paleness of his features.

"Miss Lacus," he replied dully.

"I forgive you," she cut in before he could get another word in and saw the start of surprise light his features. When Kanoko had told her of Canard's relationship to Kira and Cagalli it had made sense to her the sadness and pain that she had initially seen in him when they had first met aboard the _ReHOME_ in Moscow. Before then, she had been puzzled at the man, wondering why he looked like he carried the weight of the world and then some more upon his shoulders. She understood, it was the same weight that Kira bore, except his was compounded by the fact that his pain was anchored by guilt and by his own seemingly mindset that he was unable to do anything about it.

"Representative Clyne-"

"I forgive you," she repeated again, this time emphasizing her words to let the older man know that she was completely serious.

He stared at her for a long time before turning his gaze downwards, "I don't deserve forgiveness."

"Everyone does," she said, remembering what her mother had taught her before her life had been taken away by a horrible accident. "And I forgive you."

He seemed to consider her words for a moment before nodding once, "I accept it, but it will be a long time before I forgive myself."

"I know," she replied, "but there will be people there for you when you do."

Canard nodded once again before straightening slightly in the chair, "I do however, bring warning. There was a man who confronted me as I was trying to rescue the pilot of the Freedom. He bore an uncanny resemblance to Chairman Dullindal of PLANT."

That piece of news made her sit up straighter as her thoughts strayed to Dullindal who had only appeared on camera just hours ago, announcing the charges that were to be brought up at Athrun's trial. But that man was at PLANT so how Canard say that Dullindal was down in Rodina? But the implications that Canard were saying that if a man who looked like Dullindal was in control of Blue Cosmos, did it mean that somehow they wanted to discredit the PLANT chairman?

"I also met your doppelganger actress. Her name's Meer," Canard said and Lacus recognized the name.

"Was her last name Campbell?" she asked.

"I don't know, and the man I talked to was pretty adamant that he was Gilbert Dullindal," Canard looked a bit hesitant, glancing to his left and right before hunching a bit closer to the screen, "Miss Lacus…I believe he may be telling the truth."

She instantly recognized his body posture was one of utmost secrecy. He did not want to explain why he knew it, and the only real reason she could think of that would compromise himself and even Keiji was that it was related to Mendel. He needed her there in person before he would say his reason for suspect. That in of itself cemented the truth to his words in her opinion as she kept her face smooth and free of any expression.

"Lacus, do you know this Meer?" Keiji's face appeared in the corner as he leaned down to talk to her.

"Possibly," she could not confirm her suspicions until she did a bit of checking, "but if it does turn out to be true, then we will have the necessary information to make sure that all charges against Athrun is dropped and it will be enough to turn public opinion against what happened at Rodina."

"What?" the two men looked confused.

She pursed her lips slightly, "ESNN just broke news about the LF's operation in Rodina."

Keiji's curse was mild compared to what came out of Canard's mouth. "The Princess is not going to like this," Canard shook his head.

"She will be strong," was all she could say, "I have told the assembled media that I approved the rescue operation."

Keiji immediately bent lower on the screen, half crowding Canard out of the way, "Lacus, that's very dangerous. And foolish too."

"I don't get it-"

"I'll explain later," Keiji cut the younger man off before shaking his head at her, "Your father would have been proud of you, but at what risk to your own reputation and career?"

"Like you," she smiled slightly, "anything and everything to make sure Kira and Cagalli are safe."

Keiji snorted lightly before shaking his head, "Siegel Clyne you are not, but your mother you are. Be careful Lacus."

"I know," she made to disconnect the connection, "I'll contact you later."

"Over and out," the image of both Keiji and Canard disappeared into a wash of static before she tapped a few keys on the virtual keyboard in front of her desk and sat down, absently placing Pink-chan to her right where it began to roll around, humming softly to itself.

She brought up another connection and the image of her manager at the recording studio came up. "Hi Lacus, how are things going in the political arena?"

She smiled faintly and shook her head, "The same. How are you?" Her manager was a family friend, completely and utterly loyal to the Clynes. When she had announced her neutrality during the Bloody Valentine War, he had been taken in for questioning by Patrick Zala's men, but had not spoken a single word even though he had no clue where she was. She planned to keep it that way, only using him as a conduit for some information.

"I was wondering if you had Meer's phone number? I wanted to go over the latest song I had finished composing. It's supposed to be for the memorial to all those who died in Berlin and for the city lost and I was wondering if she could be the harmonic singer in this one."

"Oh, one of your backup dancers and singers, Meer Campbell, here, hold on, lemme see what I can find…" her manager's face disappeared half off screen as he searched around before he appeared back on, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Okay, I'm transmitting the info right now. Hey did you know that she's been seeing a guy recently? Some minor actor named Triton Lynd, you know. Brought him around a few months ago, says he's a big fan of yours. Funny though, he could almost pass for Athrun, if he didn't have the dark red hair and brown eyes."

Something in Lacus' mind clicked as she remembered the grainy image of her doppelganger and someone who looked eerily like Athrun in that video. If Meer was the one who was impersonating her, something that she knew was a possibility due to the sheer fact that Meer Campbell was her back-up singer and the two of them had similar vocal patterns, then could it be that her boyfriend, this mysterious Triton, be Athrun's doppelganger?

And if all of this was true, how did that connect to Dullindal? Canard seemed to think that it was related somehow to Kira and Cagalli's secret, which meant something to do with Mendel. Her computer beeped softly as it finished receiving the information and she smiled at her manager. "Thank you. Be safe and well," she said as he nodded.

"You too," he replied before the connection was cut.

More over, if this was Mendel related and Athrun's trial was just a distraction, did that mean that Rodina was just a ploy too? So many questions, yet so little answers…

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I understand that it's been over seven months since I updated this story and for that I humbly apologize. The only excuse I can offer up is that I needed to sit back and re-write the outline for the next coming parts and by doing so, made me realize the direction I was taking this story in. So to you, loyal readers thank you for hanging in there with me and I hope, this time, to make this part of my monthly updates of various stories.


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